


I Have No Idea What is Happening so I'm Just Going with the Flow Here

by ItWasUs (AnonymousObsesser)



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: BUT SHE'S NOT THE ONLY MAIN CHARACTER SO WATCH OUT AND DON'T IGNORE THE OTHERS, Blanket Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN PERCY JACKSON OR ANY OTHER OF RICK RIORDAN'S CREATIONS, I'm Sorry, Luke redemption, Main Character is an OC, Pairings are all over the place, Repentant Luke, Sorry Not Sorry, This story is trash btw, but not really, just an fyi, pjo reads
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-27
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-09-02 11:55:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8666512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnonymousObsesser/pseuds/ItWasUs
Summary: Belle is totally normal...or so she thinks. She has a pretty average life-17, loves to read, hangs out with big brother, parents dead in a car crash she barely survived herself...scars all over from vicious attack in the hospital...yeah, totally normal. Then she gets sucked up to Olympus to join her favorite characters.There are quite a few pairings expressed in this fic, it's hard to tell who goes with who and who will be together in the end.Main pairing is Luke Castellan/Belle, but there's a twist coming for who she really is.[ON HIATUS UNTIL I CAN GET MY LIFE BACK ON TRACK AFTER FUCKING UP SPECTACULARLY--MORE INFO IN CHAPTER SEVEN NOTES]





	1. Chapter 1

In the middle of November, 2020, I was alone. This in and of itself wasn't odd; I was often left on my own. I had only one family member—well, okay, only one that I talked to, only one that I had any kind of closeness with. I'd had to relearn that closeness after…

Ahem…

More on that later.

Anyway, I was just sitting in my—empty—living room, having plopped down to read a book. It was a day off from school; the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Why do we always get that Wednesday off? Is it really necessary? I mean, I get that a lot of kids would skip even if we _had_ school—week-long vacation or whatever—but _some_ would come.

Sorry, rambling. I do that a lot. Please disregard it.

The book I was reading was actually Rick Riordan's _Blood of Olympus_. I know, I know…I'm _way_ behind the loop on that one. In my defense, though, I'd only actually found out about the series like a month ago. I'm a fast reader, though, so it was easy to catch up that far. I'd also taken the time to read a few of the companions—mainly because the characters are so good. I wanted to really get to know them, you know? Especially Percy, Luke, Nico, Annabeth and Thalia. Reyna and Zoë, too, though there isn't much to see about them.

So, I was sitting and reading.

Suddenly, a soft light surrounded me, making me jump up in surprise, dropping the book in the process.

* * *

When the light cleared, I was standing in a familiar building. Well, familiar to my brain, at least. I'd never actually been there.

 _Is this the Empire State Building?_ I thought. _Yes, yes it is._

"Can I help you?"

I spun around at the chipper voice. A woman stood behind the desk, smiling. She was taller than me by nearly a foot, with blond hair and violet-blue eyes.

The woman repeated the question, still smiling. "I guess," I replied slowly, taking a step toward her. "I don't really know how I got here, or why I _am_ here. Do you?"

Her smile grew into a grin. "What is your name, dear?"

I hesitated. "Um..."

She shrugged, still smiling. "That's alright. You don't have to tell me." She held out a key. "Elevators are in the left. Put this in the keyhole, then press the glowing button. It goes to the six-hundredth floor. Good luck. Tell them I said hello..." She glanced at her computer, then toward the door. Following her gaze, I blinked. The glass doors glittered in the sunlight, a rainbow of color; through the light, I could just barely see a golden carriage. "Or not," she continued. "I'm sure the boss has messages for most of them, anyway...Have a nice day!"

By the time I looked back at her, she was gone. I just shrugged. _She must have gone into a back room or something._

I walked over to the elevators, slipping inside one of them and putting the key in. After I pressed the button that appeared, the door slid closed. The music was _White Rabbit_ , which I ignored, waiting patiently until the door opened.

At my floor, I stepped out into the marble walkway hesitantly.

 _It won't collapse,_ I told myself. _It was repaired after the last war. Besides, it's just a dream, right? Can't die here, anyway._ So, I was in Olympus. The path was pretty empty, no gods or satyrs or anything out. I walked quietly up the stairs, arriving at the end of a long street.

On the other end stood a temple, so large that it needed fourteen columns to hold it up. Each was a different design, symbolizing the twelve Olympians, plus Hades and Hestia. (I almost wondered wet they were included, but let it go; they're my favorites, anyway, and they don't get enough credit if you ask me.)

Having approached the temple as I admired the columns, I was startled from my thoughts by the large doors opening.

I stepped inside, walking deeper into the temple as I called out. "Hello? Is anyone here? What's going on?" I jumped as the doors slammed closed behind me, but continued through the building. Another staircase, directly in the middle, led up to a second...third...fourth...fifth level. I sighed, climbing up the steps.

At the very top was a short hallway, leading to a new set of doors. I rapped on the door, the sound bouncing off the walls behind me. "Hello? Anyone in there? Can you tell me why I'm here?"

I was about to knock again when the door opened, revealing a small girl. Shorter than me, even. She looked about twelve, and so skinny she probably couldn't tip the scale at ninety pounds dripping wet. Her brown eyes were curious, her hair in a messy ponytail. She had on a brown dress and matching ballet flats.

"Hello," she said quietly, smiling serenely. She stepped back into the room featuring me inside. "Please, come in. I cannot answer your question, but you are welcome to wait inside until the others arrive."

Stepping through the door, I looked at her in bemusement. "Others? What—"

"What do you want to be called, dear?"

I paused. Obviously, I want supposed to give my real name. I never did in dreams, actually. I always said... "Belle. Call me Belle."

"Are you sure?" I nodded, making her grin. "Alright. The others should arrive soon. They are so excited to meet you."

"Why—" I stopped. "Right, you won't answer."

At the center of the room was a semicircle of twelve thrones— though they were the sizes of normal chairs—surrounding a large fireplace. I glanced around as the girl knelt by the hearth, waving her hand over the flame—it jumped up to meet her skin, circling her wrist.

That's when it dawned on me. "Are you Lady Hestia?"

The girl smiled, letting the flame settle. "Yes. Very good, Belle. Few notice me anymore, I'm afraid."

"Really?" I asked, surprised. "You're one of my favorites..." She raised a brow. "I always tell...my brother that if I'd been born in another time, I might have been a Vestal Virgin." I laughed.

She blinked. "Oh. That's...interesting."

"I just...I'm very supportive of families, I guess. And I've always loved fire."

"Good," she replied. "Family is very important."

I stayed silent, looking around again. Finally, I took a deep breath, sighing. "So why was the path so empty? Aren't there usually, I don't know, _people_ around here?"

"Usually," Hestia admitted. "But Olympus is closed today. Only certain people are allowed in. You and I, for instance, but also the other Olympians, including my...brother."

Judging from her expression, the two were estranged. I guessed. "Lord Hades?"

"Yes." She gazed at the fire. "It pains me to say it, but we gods simply are not perfect enough to have good relations amongst ourselves. And Hades stays in the Underworld so long, hardly visiting for the solstice meeting. He is...separate from us in many ways."

"It's really too bad," I replied. "Lord Hades is very important to the world—will rule over his kingdom long after humanity and the other gods are gone—but he is still not accepted. Even in his own family, it seems."

Hestia turned to me, her brow scrunched in thought. "That is an interesting philosophy, Belle. Is Hades another of your favorite gods?"

"Yes. I read a lot of books...One of them had this great story about him, and I'd seen hints of the same in a few myths about him."

"What do you like about the gods?"

I paused. "Well...I suppose I admire the sky, as well as storms, which I guess would be Lord Zeus. But I don't like how he cheats on Lady Hera. She is a good wife, if jealous. I've always thought marriage was very sacred, even if it's not for me." Deep breath. "I love the sea, and Poseidon's water powers are pretty spectacular. I'm a gardener in my spare time, which I suppose links me to Demeter, and I love walking in wheat fields. I like that she isn't a girly girl—at least, not from what I heard. I wish I could grow grapes like Dionysus. And his followers were pretty cool, too." I paused for a long moment, and Hestia looked over at me.

"Please go on," she said with a smile. "This is a new perspective, hearing of my own family from a mortal who has never truly meet them. Demigods, all they do is complain about their parent, and the few mortals with sight simply ignore the signs. You, though, Belle...are very interesting. You have perfect sight, it seems, and yet...you do not believe in us."

"I do..."

She shook her head. "Allow me to rephrase. You are a religious believer, but you also believe this to be a dream."

"True," I replied. "I basically believe in all gods, actually..."

"There is something about you..." She trailed off, staring out at space, before continuing. "It's blocked from my sight, though...perhaps we will find out?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. As far as I know, I'm pretty normal, other than reading all those mythology books."

"Well, go on then! Tell me what you think of the others!"

"Which would you like to hear about?"

"Any you can think of," she said, twirling a bit of fire around her hand. "The council won't arrive for a little while—they want you to be comfortable with one of us, just to get an idea of how you will react to them."

I shuddered, then sighed. "Well, you already know why I like you. Lord Hades ought to be more respected, I think, but I like that he doesn't constantly need other's to like him. Plus, I bet the Underworld is a pretty cool place. I mean, I've heard a lot about it, and it seems amazing-looking. Then, I really like Lord Apollo. Sunshine is very pretty, I think. Plus, he's _totally_ a multitasker. You know, sun, music, medicine—all very important. Um...Lady Athena is really smart—I usually try to say something nice in prayer during school. It probably doesn't help, but I'll do it forever, probably. And, you know, she's very supportive of heroes, which I think is nice." I paused for breath, looking over and counting chairs. "My reason for looking Lady Artemis is similar to my reason for liking you—she had good ideals, and protects those around her. Lord Hephaestus is very good at building things, I've heard. That's pretty cool. Then again, everything I've ever tried to build has fallen apart, so..." I laughed.

"What of Hermes, Aphrodite and Ares? Are there others you have read about?"

"Lord Hermes is very important, I think. He's quite the trader, and I'm also a strong believer in communication and travel. Lord Ares...I don't particularly like war, but I can understand that it is essential to balance. I mean, if everyone was always happy, there wouldn't be any need for progress or invention." Hestia nodded thoughtfully. "And as for Lady Aphrodite..." I sighed. "Well...as much as I hate it, beauty is very important in society. Therefore, I suppose it's just as well that some have it and some don't. Physical beauty, I mean. I've always seen personalities, myself. Though, now that I think about it, people don't necessarily have those, either. Plus, I like how she helps people in bad situations find love. I mean, she really should have just started out of the whole Helen situation, but there are other stories. Like the guy with the statue—Pygmalion and Galatea. I like that story." I stopped, thinking. "I suppose there are others. Lord Thanatos, I guess, but only because I—"

"What?"

"I..." I hesitated. "I think I met him once...And the other one, Lord Hypnos? I saw him just the other day, I think..." I shrugged. "Then again, I was really sick when I thought I saw Lord Thanatos. And I was—duh—dreaming when Lord Hypnos appeared. I always have been fascinated with sleep and death; they're so similar, and yet different. I suppose their darkness is also why I like Lady Nyx."

"And Hercules? Young people like Hercules, right?"

I pursed my lips. "I guess. Strength is very important, yes, but...I don't know. I mostly only read about him because he's more...human? He had more human problems than a lot of the others."

Hestia nodded. "I can understand that." He eyes locked back on the fire. "Is there anything you like to do besides read?"

"Not much, I'm afraid. I like to write, I guess. And draw, though I'm not very good at it. Oh." I looked down, and sure enough, I was wrong a sweatshirt. I reached into the pocket; as I suspected, my trusty notebook was inside. I yanked it out, flipping through the pages. I got to my favorite drawing—one of my brother, with a story is written beneath it. I handed it to Hestia. "That's my brother. He fell asleep when he was studying for his finals, and he didn't wake up for a couple of hours so I took the time to draw him. The story is something I made up."

She looked at it for a moment, then smiled. "This is lovely, Belle."

My cheeks burned as I took it back, putting it back into my pocket. "I guess..."

Hestia blinked. "The others are arriving."

I raised a brow. "When—" I was cut off by a flash of light.


	2. Chapter 2

When the spots cleared from my vision, my first thought was, _Gods, I hope I wasn't blind for long._

The room was now illuminated, at least. No more darkness, no more needing the light of the fire. As I stood from my position keeping by the fire, I noticed them.

Before me, in the previously empty thrones, sat twelve people whom I would assume were the Olympian council. Each was just as I imagined they would be:

Zeus and Hera both looked regal, the former in black dress pants and a blue button up shirt, the latter in a flowing dress of the lightest pink. Hera's gold hair was tied up in an elaborate braid over her right shoulder and her hazel eyes seemed warm enough, though their gaze was also calculating; probably due to the fact that her husband is a cheater. Zeus' blue eyes twinkled in the light like streaks of lightning; his dark hair looked rather shaggy, but paired with the barely-there scruff it made him look...well, sufficiently godly.

Athena had her gold-blonde hair pulled into a ponytail, and her grey eyes stared out from her angelic face with a cold and calculating gaze not unlike that of her stepmother. She sat beside her father stiffly, dressed in a simple cotton shirt and jeans, high-heel boots covering her feet. Hermes, sitting on her other side, looked like a commoner by contrast, though his clothes were similar—he, too, wore a simple t-shirt and khaki shorts, sandaled feet crossed at the ankles. He looked like the stereotypical surfer dude, with shaggy blond hair and twinkling blue eyes that were just a shade lighter than his dad's.

Demeter and Aphrodite both wore dresses, though different colors—Demeter's was the color of light mint, bringing out her grassy eyes; Aphrodite's that of a foamy ocean. Demeter's wheat-blond hair was teased up into a bun, though a few strings had come loose; paired with her tan skin, it gave her the look of slaving in a field, though she couldn't have done much in her flimsy sandals. Then again...she _is_ the harvest goddess. She could probably do anything she wanted in that regard. It was hard to pinpoint exactly what Aphrodite looked like—my guess was it'd take a while before her appearance attuned to my perfect image of beauty.

On either side of Aphrodite sat Ares and Hephaestus, neither looking particularly happy to be there. Hephaestus was dressed similarly to Hermes—in khaki shorts, a loose t-shirt and a mismatched pair of combat boots—but his appearance was less casual and more this-is-all-I-could-be-bothered-to-dress-up-in. He kept pulling things out of his pockets and tinkering, building things and destroying them in a matter of seconds; his hazel eyes matched his mother's, and his shaggy dark hair stitched seamlessly into his scraggly beard (which, if I wasn't mistaken, kept catching on fire randomly). He wasn't as deformed as everyone says; there was just a slight unvenness in his shoulders, and he had odd little discs on his legs, presumably keeping them looking normal. Ares, on the other side, sitting between his girlfriend and his mother, looked downright uncomfortable and pretty irritated; he kept tapping his nails on his chair and running his other hand over his close-cropped military-style hair. His red dress shirt looked like it was made from blood, and it contrasted in an ugly way with his black dress pants and dress shoes (I noticed a leather jacket draped across the back of his chair). Usually, I like the black-and-red combination; but for some reason, on Ares, it didn't sit right with me. Just looking at him made me want to punch something. His eyes were an odd reddish-brown, and the color and attitude of them looked so angry and violent and irritated that I vaguely wondered if he'd been pulled out of a fight to come here.

Artemis and Apollo were dressed similarly—but by the way they inched away from each other, you could tell they hadn't meant to do it. Both wore black skinny jeans tucked into brown leather hunting boots, with stark white t-shirts on their upper halves. The only difference was that Artemis had a silver hoodie on over her clothes. Though their basic bone structure was relatively the same, Artemis' cheekbones were just a little higher, her mouth just a bit fuller, her eyes just a little bigger and more child-like. Her face was serious, though. Not cold, just serious. Artemis' hair was dark, like the sky at midnight, and her eyes gleamed a bright silver. Apollo's hair was golden, his eyes a bright sky blue. He was smiling, showing off a row of straight, blindingly white teeth.

Poseidon sat between his sister Demeter and his nephew Dionysus, on the side of the council closest to Hestia. He sat straight in his seat, looking almost nervous for some reason; his dark hair flopping in his eyes a little, his fingers momentarily tangling in his scraggly beard every now and then, his sea-green eyes darting across the faces of his family. Maybe because he was in his brother's domain and not his own. His clothes were kind of fisherman-like; blue button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and top two buttons left unbuttoned. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I realized it was because the buttons were uneven, the button holes shifted too far up. He, like Hermes and Hephaestus, wore khaki pants, though he seemed to lean more toward Hermes' style with the sandals. Dionysus was wearing khakis and sandals, too, but his semi-loose shirt was adorned with horrific Hawaiian flowers and he wore dress shoes on his feet. He looked bored, his long fingers tangling in his dark hair as he leaned on the arm of his chair and his eyelids drooping over eyes the color of dark violet wine. Though the other gods were ridiculously toned and fit, it struck me as odd that he was so. Maybe just because I'd spent so long looking at him through Percy's eyes, and had expected him to be...well, fatter and scruffier. But he was just as fit and good-looking as the rest of his family.

I'd seen Hades first, but only after seeing everyone else did I look back at him. It surprised me, as it had with Dionysus, that he was so good-looking. His dark hair flopped into his obsidian eyes, which were lined in dark circles. Unlike his brothers, he was cleaned shaven; his jaw was gaunt, not soft in any way, his lips in a thin line. He wasn't skinny or emaciated, but he wasn't chubby, either. He was somewhere between Ares' bulkiness and Apollo's athleticism. His black dress shirt hugged his chest in a flattering way, his black dress pants flowing just right over his fancy shoes, and he looked almost more kingly than his brother, Zeus; his straight posture wasn't really haughty—more like practiced—and he, like his other brother, didn't really seem comfortable with being there, standing still in an awkward way about a foot from Apollo's chair. _He really does look like a goth emo dude from an anime or manga,_ I mused. Hestia stood on the other side of the semicircle. She'd grown from her girly image, now looking about the same age as the other gods. Her gown had changed to a flowing red frock, though her hair was still in its messy ponytail.

All of these observations were taken in a matter of seconds, a by-product of the adrenaline rushing through my veins after the temporary blindness.

All of the Olympians were staring at me.

"Sorry," I said slowly. "What did I miss during the light show?" A few chuckled nervously at that.

"Nothing," Zeus said. "You were only blind for a moment."

"Oh." I was startled; usually glare spots last for longer with me. "Well, good," I said, regaining my composure. I looked around, my hands on my hips. " _Now_ will somebody explain why I am here?"

A couple of gods looked confused. Athena was the one to answer, speaking slowly. "You mean no one has told you?"

I shook my head.

Hestia replied, "I thought it best to wait until we were all here."

"You are here to read with us."

I waited for someone to deny it, for someone to jump out and say _Gotcha!_ but no one did. "Really?" I asked happily, and they nodded. "What are we reading?"

The council looked around, like they were waiting for something. Then Artemis said, "We don't exactly know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" I asked carefully, looking at each of them in turn.

Apollo was the one to answer my question. He stood and pulled a piece of paper from his back pocket. "We found this note sitting next to the fire eight days ago. We did everything it said, but we still don't know what it means." As he spoke, he handed it to me and sat back down.

I unfolded the paper and read it quickly. It said:

_Hello. You guys are going to read for once in your immortal lives (except for you, Athena, you are great at reading, but you still have to read the books) and you are going to LIKE IT! You will find a young girl to guide your reactions to said books (because I know that you will pick the correct girl) and there will be certain…guests to read with you, as well. Congratulations, I hope you like the books._

_Talk soon,_

_Your anonymous Supplier_

After reading the note, I handed it back to Apollo, who put it back in his pocket. "At first, we thought Atty over here was trying to pull one over our heads to get us to read, but then we realized that there was no way any note written by her would be so informal." Apollo started to grit his teeth as he spoke the next part. "Then, everyone thought that I had been the one to write the note, since it gave the impression that the writer could tell the future. But obviously it wasn't me. I mean, why would I want everyone to read?"

"But there isn't anyone else that could possibly know so much, as far as we know," said Demeter, smiling kindly, "and Atty and Polo here were the smartest bets."

"Hey," Athena said crossly, "don't group me into the same category with THAT." She pointed at Apollo like he was the worst thing to ever be compared to. "And DON'T call me Atty. I hate that."

"Well, maybe if you weren't always trying to get us all to read your stupid architectural books, no one would have accused you." Apollo was on his feet, getting right up in Athena's face as she rose to meet him.

"Well, maybe no one would have accused you were you not always playing silly pranks on us all." Athena was giving as good as she got, and both she and Apollo's faces were red with anger. Finally, Apollo relented, sitting back down.

"Whatever," he said, turning and looking anywhere but in Athena's direction. "And don't call me Polo. I hate that." He turned to glare at his aunt, but she just threw a piece of wheat at him and stuck her tongue out.

"Um," I said, and everyone suddenly looked at me, making me a bit nervous. I shrunk down on myself. "Did you guys ever think that maybe it was the Fates who wrote the note?"

The gods looked at each other. "Well," Zeus began, but he didn't continue.

" _Well_ , what?" I asked.

"He means to say no," Hera answered, looking at her husband sharply, "we didn't."

"Well, it was probably them," I said, "and they must just really want you guys to read these books, but I still don't—" I was interrupted by the fire.

Hestia and Hades both yelled, "Look out! Get down!" and rushed me, pushing me away from the hearth and to the ground, landing on top of me like a shield against the explosion.

* * *

"Um, please get off of me."

Hades and Hestia both looked at me sheepishly before standing and pulling me to my feet.

I let go of them quickly, curling inwards again and crossing my arms over my chest. Looking away from them, I observed the fire. There didn't seem to be anything different.

Then I noticed the paper sitting on the edge of the hearth.

"What's this?" I asked, picking it up. Nobody knew. I unfolded the note, reading it out loud.

_Aren't you just as clueless as always? Yes, we are the Fates. Belle was correct. Also, your guests are on their way. We must warn you, however; you mustn't kill anyone. We don't care what they say. We don't care who their parents are. No killing, maiming, are otherwise destroying/harming any of your guests. Once you are finished reading, all of your guests will be returned to their proper lives…that is, if said lives still exist. You reading these books may or may not change the future. It won't change Belle's, though, so don't worry._

_Sincerely,_

_The Fates_

At the bottom, there was another note, one that I read to myself, blushing. (Faintly, I heard Aphrodite holding in a squeal, probably detecting some kind of cuteness no one else could see.)

_P.S. Belle, honey, get ready—we have to take away your memories of these books. Sorry, but it's the only way to be sure everyone is on the same level. At the end, you'll get them back, we promise—and you'll get to keep any new memories you make with these...people._

I folded up the note, putting it back by the fire before inching away.

"Umm…Quick question," I said quietly. "What year is it?"

"2000," Hestia said curiously. "Why?"

"Just curious," I replied. "So, I guess you pulled me from the future?"

"Yeah…" Apollo said sheepishly. "That was my idea. See, I figured if you were from the future, when you went back you wouldn't be able to do anything about us being real." He shrugged. "Seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Right." I rubbed my upper arms anxiously. "That certainly makes the note make more sense." I smiled at their confused expressions. "I've already read the books we're going to read. Unfortunately…" I trailed off curiously. "I don't remember what happened in them." I shrugged. "The Fates took my memories."

"Hmm…" Athena said. "Well, I suppose we will just have to wait for these guests to—"

Another bright light, and about a dozen people appeared in front of us. I jumped, shrinking back behind the hearth.

"—get here," she finished with a sigh.

Hermes laughed lightly.

"Holy Hephaestus!" one of the kids sputtered, stumbling a little bit. As he regained his footing, he looked around. "What are we doing here?!"

"Children," Zeus said gruffly. "Perhaps introductions are in order."

"What do you mean?" a girl asked. "You already know us."

"Not necessarily," Hestia said kindly. "It appears you are all from the future. You are here to read some books with us."

"I'd bet anything the Fates are behind this," another boy muttered. "Those old bats are gonna be the death of me—literally."

A few gods raised their eyebrows, exchanging a look.

_He shouldn't be so brash addressing the gods,_ I thought.

"Well." Hermes was the first to recover. "Let's start with introductions. I assume you all know who we are." He smirked. "So, who are you?"

Awkward silence. The boy who swore before suddenly spoke up.

"Hey, are we doin' titles, too? 'Cuz that could be dangerous. Not to mention _long_ for some of us."

"This whole situation is dangerous," another boy muttered.

Everyone looked to a boy who looked about eighteen, with black hair and green eyes—he must be the leader.

"I guess we should. Might as well get it all out there."

The first one to step forward was a girl.

This girl had frizzy red hair and was dressed like a shaman (flowy clothes over pants), though she wore high-top light-up sneakers. She only looked about seventeen, but she seemed to commandeer respect nearly equal to that of the black-haired boy. "Rachel Elizabeth Dare," she said calmly, bowing slightly. "Oracle."

"Wait, what?!" Apollo said suddenly, sitting upright. "Oracle? How?"

She stood from her bow slowly, looking a bit sheepish. "Long story."

"One we have no time for," Artemis said impatiently. She looked at her brother sharply. "Continue with the introductions, please."

"Right, well," said the boy who had said everything was dangerous, stepping up and bowing deeply. He looked nervous, and it looked like he had a slight limp. He seemed to be about sixteen, dressed in high-top sneakers, jeans, and an orange t-shirt; but there was something about him that told me he was way older than that. "Grover Underwood. Satyr. Lord of the Wild. Finder of the great god Pan. Wanderer of the Labyrinth. Savior of Olympus."

The next boy, looking about fifteen (but still just as tall as the older kids), was… _dark_ —that's the only way to describe him. He had Italian skin and dark hair and eyes. His clothes **—** jeans and a skull t-shirt with an aviator jacket draped across his shoulders **—** were black, and he had a black sword strapped to his hip. I knew who he was related to before he said it. "I am Nico Di Angelo. Son of Hades. Before you say anything, Uncle Zeus," he said flatly, just as Zeus looked about to burst. "My father did not break your little agreement. I was trapped in a magic hotel for seventy years—that means I was born before you made the pact." He glared out at everyone. "Anyway. I am the Ghost King. Traveler of Shadows. Wanderer of the Labyrinth..." He trailed off, looking at the leader again. He in turn shared a look with the girl next to him, and they both nodded. Nico looked back to the gods. "...and Tartarus. Savior of Olympus." He stepped back.

" _Tartarus…_ " Hades murmured, looking at his son with concern. Hestia, beside him, put a reassuring hand on his arm. (I was a little surprised he let her get close to him, let alone touch him.)

The next girl stepped forward. She had black spiky hair and electric blue eyes. She looked about fifteen, and wore silver clothes. She seemed to radiate power. "I'm Thalia Grace. Daughter of Zeus. Lieutenant of the Huntresses of Artemis."

"Thalia?" Zeus questioned. "But…but you're a…"

"Tree?" Thalia grunted. "Yeah, well, not anymore. Busted outta that a couple of years ago."

Artemis sat up a bit at her title. "Lieutenant? My Huntresses? But…Zoë…?"

Thalia shook her head.

After a moment of silence, Demeter waved the next one forward. Two stepped forward, a boy and a girl, holding hands nervously.

The girl had dark skin and curly brown hair. She was a little short—maybe thirteen—wearing jeans, a purple shirt, a faux-leather jacket, and boots; with a javelin strapped to her back and a sword on each hip (different lengths, though, which was odd to me). "I am Hazel Levesque. Daughter of Pluto. Controller of the Mist. One of the Seven."

Zeus glared at his brother, whose image seemed to shimmer. It flickered between two pictures, like a hologram on the fritz. There was the one I'd seen him as first, with dark eyes lined in kohl-like circles, dark hair flopping into them; well-toned muscles under a dark button-up shirt and dress pants; and dress shoes. But then his appearance shifted, and he was suddenly wearing a black suit lined with rubies, emeralds, and precious metals; a cape; and a crown atop his shiny black hair, which was slightly longer, though he remained clean shaven. I thought I saw faces floating on the underside of the cape, but the image was gone before I could blink. Finally it stopped, and Hades held his head for a moment, as if in pain. Then he looked at his daughter, almost looking frightened.

Hera sat up straighter, if possible. "The Seven? But that's the _Second_ Great Prophecy! My plan worked?!"

"Yeah…" Thalia grumbled. "Your stupid plan for world peace worked just fine. Until we went to war for the second time in three years."

Most people shifted uncomfortably, obviously having heard her.

Finally, the boy beside Hazel cleared his throat. He was big and muscled, wearing a purple shirt and jeans with combat boots (like Hazel, he had several weapons strapped around his body); but he looked nervous, shifting awkwardly. He looked a little Chinese, and probably about fifteen. His hold on Hazel's hand was nervous but firm. "Uh…I'm Frank Zhang. Son of Mars. Legacy of Poseidon. Shape-shifter. Praetor of New Rome. One of the Seven."

Athena looked slightly angry. " _Romans?_ " she spat, as if just noticing.

The introductions were hastily continued.

The boy who swore stepped forward. He had elfin features and Latino skin, wearing dirty, holey jeans; a plain dark t-shirt (which looked alittle charred at the edges, actually); and work boots; looking about seventeen. His dark eyes sparked with mischief, and his hands kept fiddling with his tool belt. "I'm Leo Valdez. Son of Hephaestus. Fire Wielder. Designer and Commander of the Argo II. One of the Seven."

Two more stepped forward. The boy patted Leo on the back, and the girl just smiled.

She was beautiful in the way people are when they try not to be, an unusual look for a seventeen-year-old. Her orange t-shirt was tattered in a natural way, like she'd worn it for years. (I suspected this was not the case.) She wore her jeans tucked into a pair of well-worn leather cowboy boots, and there was a knife strapped to her belt. Her choppy brown hair fell over her shoulders prettily, framing her gorgeous eyes and tan face, and there was a feather hanging just behind her ear. "I'm Piper McLean," she said. Instantly, everyone relaxed, even me. I almost stepped out from behind the fire, if only to get close to her. "Daughter of Aphrodite. Charm Speaker. Defeater of Monsters. One of the Seven."

The boy squeezed her hand. He had short blond hair and bright blue eyes, taller than the rest even though he was probably about their age—maybe eighteen. He was dressed similarly to Frank, but I couldn't see any weapons on him. Instead of a purple shirt, his blue t-shirt had a Superman symbol on it. "I'm Jason Grace. Son of Jupiter and, yeah, I'm Thalia's brother."

Hera glared at her husband and huffed. "And I thought Romans were loyal."

Zeus shrunk a little in his seat, and I covered my mouth so I didn't giggle.

"Anyways," Jason continued. "I'm a Defeater of Giants. Flyer. Former Praetor of New Rome. One of the Seven."

As they stepped back, all eyes turned to the last two kids. They were leaving against each other heavily, looking very tired.

The girl was blond and athletic-looking, and her stormy grey eyes stared fiercely—if a bit droopy— at those around her. She wore jeans and an orange t-shirt, a knife holster on each hip; her hiking boots were dusty, like she'd been walking on dirt paths and climbing through holes covered in cobwebs for a couple of months.

The boy's black hair went well with his Mediterranean skin tone and sea-colored eyes. He looked like a teenaged version of Poseidon, even radiated a godly power similar to that of the gods or Thalia. He had on a ratty blue t-shirt and dark-wash jeans, which were tucked into what I assumed were hiking boots, but they looked kind of military-ish. He was gorgeous—tall and tan and lean and muscled.

Both of them looked worn down—like they'd been thrown through the ringer one too many times but still came back up on top.

Finally, after nodding with reluctance, they stood up straighter. The girl spoke first.

"Annabeth Chase. Daughter of Athena. Architect of Olympus. Former Carrier of the Sky. Wanderer of the Labyrinth and Tartarus. Slayer of Monsters and Giants. Destroyer of Arachne and Finder of the Athena Parthenos. Savior of Olympus. One of the Seven."

"Why would Olympus need an architect?" Hera scoffed, rolling her eyes. "It's perfectly fine the way it is." Then she glared at her husband. "Well, almost."

Zeus rolled his eyes.

I thought I heard the grey-eyed girl mutter something about "the last war", but I didn't catch it all. I did, however, see the green-eyed boy grimace.

"Athena Parthenos…My mark…" Athena murmured. "You did it? You defeated _her_?"

Annabeth smiled tightly, and the boy next to her scoffed. "Almost died trying," he muttered. Then he straightened. "I'm Percy Jackson. Son of Poseidon."

Zeus looked ready to explode. "POSEIDON!" he thundered. "YOU BROKE THE OATH!"

"So did you, brother," Poseidon said calmly, though he looked around nervously. "Perhaps we should just continue."

"Yes," Athena said quickly, glancing at her father. She shot a glare at Poseidon. "We should get this over with as quickly as possible, regardless of whatever Barnacle Beard has done."

"Anyway," Percy grunted. "Wanderer of the Labyrinth and Tartarus. Defeater of Many Monsters, Titans, Primordials, and Giants. Savior of Olympus. Former Carrier of the Curse of Achilles and of the Sky. Former Praetor of New Rome. One of the Seven."

Silence.

"Again," Athena muttered. "I motion to continue and get this over with as quickly as possible."

"Seconded," Hestia said cheerily, right beside my ear. I hadn't even noticed her approach. Quick as a wink, she grabbed my hand and pulled me from my hiding place. "Don't you agree, Belle?"

All the kids spun around, looking at me curiously. I shrunk back a little, but Hestia's hand kept me in place.

I should probably clarify on what I look like, huh?

I'm fairly tiny for my seventeen years, standing at barely five feet tall. I have dark brown hair that reaches down to the backs of my knees; it's a bit tangled, and I keep most of it up in a high ponytail—all but a few strands, which hang in my face. My green eyes shine through the sheet of brown in a grass-like color.

Though I have a very curvy physique and nice tan skin (all year round, which is a real pain since kids tease me about tanning too much—as if they don't do it), most of it is hidden under an oversized sweatshirt of my brother's and black boot-cut jeans. Since I was at home when I got beamed to the Empire State Building, I don't have any shoes on—just a pair of fluffy (yet strangely gripping) Christmas socks.

There's something else, I know…something I'm forgetting…

Oh, right!

The scars.

They're actually…really stupid. And weird. When I was younger (like, eleven), I was in a really bad accident. Hit and Run, I guess they call it. That's not the weird part.

I'd been walking with my parents at the time—my brother was home for holiday, and we were all going to meet him in the park down the street. As we walked through the park (me hopping a bit in the grass), we heard this screeching noise.

The three of us turned around just in time to get rammed into. I was told that my parents died on impact.

Still not weird. The weird part came later, when I was in the ICU.

Apparently, someone snuck into my room when I was asleep and cut me. No one knows how or why, but they slashed me all over: there are four long scars going across my face, barely missing my eye; eight lines over my chest; two on each arm (one on the upper part, one on the lower); and three on each leg.

It almost killed me.

I woke up briefly some time after the second surgery to find someone sitting on the edge of my bed. It was a little boy, maybe two or three, with blond hair and bright blue eyes.

"Hello," he said seriously.

"Hi." I tried to sit up a little, but winced and settled back down.

"I've been waiting for you."

I laughed a little bit. "Really? And who are you?"

He smiled, reaching over to pat my head. "Well, my name is Billy now, but you know me as Luke."

I couldn't help smiling back. "Sorry to tell you, but I don't know you."

He sighed. "Of course not. You just woke up." I chuckled, then winced. "Oh!" he gasped. He reached into his pocket and pulled out something that looked like a piece of candy. "Technically, you're not supposed to be able to eat this, but I heard that…well…you're adopted here, and your parents are…special."

"What?" I'd asked, eyeing the candy.

The boy rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Gods, are you this dimwitted in all your lives?" He sighed, bringing the candy close to my face. "This will make you better," he said slowly. "Eat it."

I took it from him, eyeing his face. "What kind is it?"

He looked thoughtful. "I don't know. What's your favorite food?"

I thought about it, then winced, grabbing my head. "Ow!" I saw his eyes widen, but waved it off. "I'm fine…I don't know what my favorite food is."

"You don't?" He paused for a moment, then leaned closer. "What's your name?"

"It's—" I stopped, then tried again. "My name is…" I looked at him, surprised. "I don't remember."

"Oh, boy," the kid muttered. "That's not good." He glanced at me for a second, then hopped off the bed and went over to a book bag sitting by the wall.

I watched him dig through the bag, looking for something. Finally, he grunted, pulling out a leather-bound book and walking back over to sit on the bed again.

"Here." He handed the book to me. "Don't tell anyone I have this, okay? I kind of snuck it through customs the other day, before I came looking for you—it's a gift from a friend on the other side. She _really_ likes to watch TV." Settling next to me, he flipped through the pages until he landed on a picture of a family. "That's you," he said, pointing at a little girl. She had a boy's arm around her and was holding a woman's hand.

"No, it's not," I said. "I don't remember any of this."

"What _do_ you remember?"

"I…I…" Nothing. "I don't remember anything."

"Exactly," the boy said. "You're lucky I'm here to help you. It's always difficult when a soul gets put into a body, rather than born into one. It doesn't happen often, thank gods. In this case…you don't remember who you are, or who you were, so I was permitted to. Now," he said, flipping the page. "Let me tell you who you are."

He taught me who I was, going through everything I'd known before. When he flipped the book closed, he looked down at the candy in my hand—it wasn't melted, but it was a little soft.

"You should eat that," he said. "It'll make you better, I promise."

"Okay," I said, nodding.

The boy smiled, hopping down and going to get his bag. "I'll see you around, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess."

A woman's voice started yelling down the hall. "Billy! Billy!"

"Is that your mom?"

"Yeah," he echoed slowly. "I guess."

He went to the door. "I'll check in with you every few years. Goodbye." He walked out.

I didn't see him again.

When he was gone, I did eat that candy—it tasted like apples and cream cheese. And I did feel better.

Back to the story at hand.

At this point, I'd given up the idea that this was a dream. If it was, it would have skipped right over the institutions and that weird conversation with Hestia. So, for some reason, I was totally fine with the absurd events occurring. Don't ask me! I don't know why I want freaking out!

The kids kept looking at me, so I waved and said, "Hi. I'm—" I stopped. "Belle. I'm Belle." I stepped back, and Hestia let me.

Leo and Rachel stepped toward us at the same time, but then seemed to think better of it.

"Well," Hermes said, clapping his hands together. "We should get started, huh? Reading these books?"

"What books?" Annabeth said curiously.

Dionysus sighed, bored.

"We're reading together," I said quickly. Everyone looked back at me, and I flinched back a little further. I continued, a little quieter. "No one knows what they are yet. We were waiting for you guys, thinking we'd get the books after you—"

A flash, and a box appeared in front of me.

"—arrived."

I sighed, then reached for the note pinned on top. I read out loud.

_So, the guests have arrived. (By the way, PERSEUS JACKSON, good guess on us being the Fates.) Well…most of you are present. There will be others—gods, demigods…alive_ _**and** _ _dead. These books are very precious, we hope you know. You should read all of them. In order. Although, if you don't read the companions, that's alright. They're good books, and they have interesting extra information in them. If you want to hear extra stories about the characters, you should read them. If you don't, that's okay, too. Anyway, get reading! Oh, and the guests will need a place to stay while your reading; if you're lucky, it'll only take a month or two to get through!_

_Sincerely,_

_The Fates_

Percy groaned. "How many times do I have to tell them to call me Percy?"

I sighed again, flipping open the box. It was pretty big, actually; about three feet deep, two foot wide, and half a yard in length. Inside, there were what looked like seven smaller boxes of different sizes, each neatly labeled. _Greeks (Read 1_ _st_ _) (2005-2009), Romans (Read 2_ _nd_ _) (2010-2014), Egyptians (Read 3_ _rd_ _) (2010-2012), Norse (Read 4_ _th_ _) (2015-2017), Apollo (Read 5_ _th_ _) (2016-2020), Companions (Scattered) (Check Years) (Choice),_ and _Graphic Novels (Individual Reading) (Choice)._

I looked up at the others, debating. Then I stuffed the one labeled "Apollo" down deep into the box. No reason to inflate his ego sooner than necessary.

"Hmm…" I muttered, then spoke louder. "There seem to be at least thirty in here, including the companions and graphic novels." Many, many groans all around. I waited for them to stop before continuing. "But the graphic novels' box says they're for individual reading, so that takes out six of them...Should we read the companions, or leave them out?"

Everyone started talking at once, muttering at first, then getting louder.

"Silence!" Zeus thundered.

Everyone went silent.

"We should get all the information first," Annabeth said, stepping toward the box. "Belle, how many companions are there?"

I flipped the biggest box open, nodding. Inside, there were two smaller boxes, both labeled: _History_ and _Assorted._ Flipping open each of those boxes, I saw that each book had a note on it, covering the title and displaying the year. "There are about seven…"

More groans.

"…But some are shorter than others, so maybe five?" I looked down at them, then quickly flipped through the pages of a few—not to read, but to gather what the content was. "Oh…But it looks like they're all in different points of view, with different characters, families, and groups of friends. And one of the boxes is labeled _History_ , and those two have pictures and what looks like someone's versions of the old myths and stories."

There was muttering throughout the two groups. This muttering was different, though: the crowd seemed interested, now.

Annabeth nodded. "Alright." She turned to the others. "Let's vote. All in favor of reading the companions?"

Hestia, Poseidon, Demeter, Hermes, Athena, Hera, Aphrodite, Artemis, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Rachel, Grover, Thalia, Frank, Hazel, and I all raised our hands first. Surprisingly, after a moment of deliberation, Apollo, Hades, Percy, Hephaestus (at prodding from his wife), Nico, and Leo raised their hands, as well.

"That's…23 out of 26, wow," I said. "Companions it is." There were no complaints, so I quickly picked out the companion novels with years between 2005 and 2009 (there was only one). Putting them with the box labeled "Greeks", I set them together on the floor, then closed up the larger box. "Alright, let's get started, shall we?"

Nods all around. I pulled out the first book on top in the box. "I think this is the…" I trailed off, surprised. I furrowed my eyebrows, slowly turning the cover so no one could see it. "Uh…Percy? Annabeth?" They looked at me, their eyes narrowing a little. "Could you guys come look at this?"

The two demigods exchanged a look. ( _Demigods_ , wow. I wondered briefly again why I wasn't freaking out about the existence of gods and such, but brushed it off as past experience. Which was a little odd to do, actually.) When the couple huddled around me, blocking the others out, I flipped the book back over so they could read the title.

The reaction was instantaneous: eyes widening, mouths dropping open, and (in Percy's case) cheeks reddening.

"Oh, gods," Annabeth whispered, covering her mouth. "I can't believe this." She sounded like she was trying not to laugh.

Percy groaned. "You've got to be f—"

"Percy!" Annabeth hissed.

"—kidding me!" he muttered, covering his face with his hands. "This cannot be real. This is just one of my crazy nightmares, right? When do I wake up?"

"Percy, if this was some crazy dream, why is _she_ here?" Annabeth asked, rolling her eyes as she pointed at me.

His sea-green eyes peeked through his fingers, peering down at me. He sighed. "Good point, as always, Wise Girl."

"What's a good point?"

We all jumped; Annabeth pulled a knife (I noticed with semi-detached curiosity that it was made of bone). I think I squeaked a little, jumping back behind Hestia. When I looked down, Leo was on the floor, grinning up at the place we'd been huddled.

"Good grief!" I gasped, clutching the book to my chest. I doubt anyone heard me.

Leo stood up, not bothering to brush himself off. "Well, you guys were just standing around!"

"We were…debating," I said quietly.

Annabeth sighed, sheathing her knife. She gestured at me. "Go ahead and tell them the title."

I looked at Percy, who nodded, looking defeated. Flipping the book over, I read:

**PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THEIF**

Silence.

Then Rachel, Grover, Thalia, Leo, Jason, and Frank all started laughing like crazy. Piper an Hazel were close behind. The gods smiled at their children, but they still looked a bit confused. They all stayed silent.

"Oh my gods," Thalia said through her giggles. "Kelp Head's the main character? This should be good!"

"I sure hope he's not going to give us any advice," Rachel gasped, holding her stomach.

"Ha ha ha," Percy said flatly.

"Come on, guys," Annabeth said. "It makes sense, you know."

They calmed down a little, but there were still a few giggles. "Yeah, we know, Annabeth," Grover said.

"It's just really funny," Jason continued. He clapped Percy on the back. "Right, bro?" He grinned at Percy's red face.

"Yeah, okay," Percy muttered. "Whatever."

"Let's just get this over with," Hades said. He waved a hand, and a black throne appeared. He slumped into it, glaring out at everyone.

"Good idea," Hestia said happily, waving her own hand. Another chair appeared, closer to the hearth—it was more like a chair you'd see someone sitting in on a cold day near the fireplace, and it had a small separate ottoman. In addition, four couches appeared, sitting three each. Nico took the seat closest to Hestia's throne (it looked a lot like they were best buddies, getting ready to gossip), and Hazel and Frank sat next to him. Then it was Thalia, Grover, and Rachel; then Piper, Jason, and Leo. The last couch—the one farthest away, nearest Hades—was taken by Annabeth and Percy. I was about to head over there, following the pattern, but a tug on my hands pulled me toward Hestia's ottoman, where I sat nervously.

I looked up and saw that both Hestia and Nico had grabbed a hand. Nico let go quickly, and Hestia slowly slid my seat over so I was between them and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, like a shield.

I saw Annabeth glance at us warily. I met her stare evenly, shrugging. _What're ya gonna do?_

"Well." Hera looked around, her eyes settling on everyone as she came to them, before she spoke. "Who wants to read the first chapter?"

Nobody answered, looking at the people around them. Finally, Ares piped up.

"Well," he said, grinning evilly, "I think if the book is in Jackson's perspective, then he should be the one to start."

"That…is probably the most intelligent thing you've ever said, Ares." Artemis sounded so surprised that certain people (namely, Thalia, Percy, Annabeth, and I) couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Humph." Ares turned and stuck his tongue out at his half-sister, which only served to prove her point for her. Now nearly everyone was laughing. Ares huffed again. "Shut it, Arty."

Artemis glared. "You first."

Ares grinned again. "Never."

Artemis turned away, not bothering to look at him or answer him anymore. Ares made a face at the back of her head, scrunching his eyes together and turning his nose in the air. Everyone laughed again.

"Okay," Nico said after everyone calmed down. "Now that that's over with, I think I'd like to agree with Lord Ares. Percy should definitely start us off. I mean, it seems fitting that he would be reading his own thoughts to us. Right?" He looked around and saw that everyone was nodding along with him.

"Alright," Percy said. "I guess I'll read first. Pass the book down." I passed it to Nico, then watched as it made its way down the line. When it got to Percy, he sighed and flipped to the first page. "One," he read.


	3. Chapter 3

**One**

**I ACCIDENTALLY VAPORIZE MY PRE-ALGEBRA TEACHER**

Percy paused, as if concentrating. Then he smirked. "Oh, I remember this." He rolled his eyes. "So we're starting _there_."

"What?" Hazel was confused.

"Why would you kill your teacher?" Athena asked, looking scandalized.

Annabeth scoffed. "You'll see."

Athena still looked a bit confused, but gestured for Percy to continue.

**Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood.**

"Yeah, well," Thalia grumbled, "who ever did?"

**If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is:**

All the teens, except Percy and I, gasped.

"What?" Athena asked, puzzled.

Annabeth answered her mother. "Whenever Percy tries to give advice, it usually ends badly."

"Yeah," Thalia laughed, "Kelp Head over here sucks at advice."

"Hey!" Percy protested. "I'm not _that_ bad." Everyone looked at him. "Okay, maybe I've had a couple of wrong turns, but none of them ended too horribly."

"Yeah, right, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth was trying to hold in her laughter, but wasn't really succeeding. "Name one time you've given good advice."

Percy stayed silent.

"Yeah. That's what I thought." Annabeth looked smug.

"Whatever, Wise Girl." Percy pouted, looking away. "Let's just continue with the book."

**close this book right now. Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life.**

"Whoa," Frank interrupted. "That was actually pretty good."

Percy stuck his tongue out before continuing.

**Being a half-blood is dangerous. It's scary. Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways.**

Annabeth turned towards Percy and stared at him strangely.

"What?" he finally asked.

"Are we sure this is you?" Annabeth asked.

"Why would we not be? I mean, not very many _half-bloods_ have the name _Perseus Jackson_ ," Percy said sarcastically. "Unless you know something I don't know." He looked at her expectantly, making her blush.

"No," she said finally, "I just meant that this guy seems more intelligent than you."

Now it was Percy's turn to blush, while everyone else laughed.

"Whatever."

**If you're a normal kid, reading this because you think it's fiction, great. Read on. I envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened.**

I saw the gods look at me, and I blushed a little, looking down.

"You're one of those, aren't you?" Rachel asked. She leaned over to look at me.

"I guess," I replied. "The Fates took my memories of these books before you got here, but I did read them. And…Actually, some things are starting to make sense now." I narrowed my eyes for a moment. _Why did I say that?_ I gestured at Percy to keep reading.

As he continued, I felt eyes on me.

Nico was looking at me suspiciously, like he wasn't really looking at me, but _through_ me—or maybe _inside_ me. When I looked back at him, he looked away.

 **But if you recognize yourself in these pages—if you feel something stirring inside—stop reading immediately. You might be one of us. And once you know that, it's only a matter of time before** _**they** _ **sense it too, and they'll come for you.**

"They?" Hermes asked curiously.

"Monsters, I assume," Piper replied.

**Don't say I didn't warn you.**

"Three, two, one…" Nico muttered.

"You didn't warn us!" All the teens (except Percy, Nico, and I) shouted.

"Whatever," Percy grumbled. He glanced back at the book, then smirked.

**My name is Percy Jackson.**

"We _know_ that," Dionysus said tiredly.

"No, that's in the book," Percy replied.

"Oh. Continue, Peter Johnson."

A bunch of the teens laughed.

"Did I say something funny?" Dionysus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You'll see," Thalia replied with a grin.

**I'm twelve years old. Until a few months ago, I was a boarding school student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.**

**Am I a troubled kid?**

"You could say that," Annabeth said cheerily, leaning against Percy.

 _I'm glad I didn't sit over there, after all,_ I thought.

**Yeah. You could say that.**

Annabeth's eyes widened.

Thalia giggled. "Annabeth, you think like a Kelp Head."

"Shut up, Thals," Annabeth hissed, flushing red.

**I could start at any point in my short miserable life to prove it, but things really started going bad last May, when our sixth-grade class took a field trip to Manhattan—twenty-eight mental-case kids and two teachers on a yellow school bus, heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff.**

"That sounds nice," Annabeth and Athena said in unison. Athena beamed at her daughter, but she turned away.

"More like torture," Hermes and Apollo muttered.

I giggled. "Museums are boring, but ancient things are beautiful. So much better than the stuff going around now."

Athena looked at me curiously. "It is odd to hear a mortal say that."

I smiled. "I've always been into history, and I studied architecture last year as an elective." Now nearly everyone was looking at me; I blushed and tried to make myself a little smaller.

Aphrodite squealed, clapping. "Oh, look at her! So pretty _and_ smart! And so shy! Oh, I wish she was one of mine! So cute! Piper, wouldn't she be such a nice sister?"

I blushed more, looking down. Aphrodite's appearance had finally aligned with my image of perfection. She was ( _duh_ ) really pretty—tall and skinny (but not overly so), with long golden blond hair and bright green eyes. Her image made me feel ugly, despite her words.

Piper was looking at me sympathetically, but I didn't meet her gaze.

"Percy, you should keep reading," I said, not looking up.

"Right."

**I know—it sounds like torture.**

I could almost _hear_ Athena glaring at Percy.

Hermes and Apollo air high-fived.

**Most Yancy field trips were.**

**But Mr. Brunner, our Latin teacher, was leading this trip, so I had hopes.**

**Mr. Brunner was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee.**

"Chiron?" Jason asked.

Percy nodded. "Yeah."

"Right!" Grover said suddenly. "I almost forgot he came to teach you."

**You wouldn't think he'd be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class. He also had this awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons, so he was the only teacher whose class didn't put me to sleep.**

"You sleep in class?!" Athena exploded. "How rude!"

"Don't worry, Mother," Annabeth said. "He doesn't do that anymore."

"Only because you won't let me." A pause. "And because, well…no school."

**I hoped the trip would be okay. At least, I hoped that for once I wouldn't get in trouble.**

"Yeah, right," Frank laughed. "With your luck?"

**Boy, was I wrong.**

**See, bad things happen to me on field trips. Like at my fifth-grade school, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield, I had this accident with a Revolutionary War cannon. I wasn't aiming for the school bus, but of course I got expelled anyway. And before that, at my fourth-grade school, when we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took an unplanned swim. And the time before that…Well, you get the idea.**

"Please go on!" Apollo shouted. He and Hermes were almost rolling on the floor. "This is gold!"

"Well, I—"

"Don't encourage them, Perseus," Poseidon said. He smiled at his son.

"Aw, come on, Uncle P," Hermes whined.

Percy quickly read on.

**This trip, I was determined to be good.**

Almost all of the teens scoffed, and Percy turned red.

**All the way into the city, I put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac girl, hitting my best friend Grover in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich.**

"Eww!" Piper, Hazel, Rachel, Hera, and Aphrodite all squealed. I just blinked.

At the same time, Thalia looked over at Grover. She looked murderous. "I'll kill her," she growled.

"It's okay, Thalia," Grover said nervously.

**Grover was on easy target.**

"Gee, thanks, Pers," Grover said flatly.

"Sorry, man," Percy said.

**He was scrawny. He cried when he got frustrated. He must've been held back several grades, because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin. On top of all that, he was crippled. He had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some kind of muscular disease in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him, but don't let that fool you. You should've seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria.**

Thalia and Annabeth were just about _rolling_ with laughter.

"Way to blow your cover, Goat Boy," Thalia howled.

Grover turned beet red. "Keep reading, Percy."

Percy chuckled, but continued.

**Anyway, Nancy Bobofit was throwing wads of sandwich that stuck in his curly brown hair, and she knew I couldn't do anything back to her because I was already on probation.**

"Probation?" Dionysus said, perking up.

"Not that kind, Mr. D," Grover said nervously.

**The headmaster had threatened me with death**

"Death?!" Poseidon looked floored.

**by in-school suspension**

"Oh," he sighed, sinking back into his chair.

Percy smiled.

**if anything bad, embarrassing, or even mildly entertaining happened on this trip.**

"Well, that's no fun," Hermes mumbled.

" **I'm going to kill her," I mumbled.**

"Oh, jeez," Thalia whispered. "I think like Kelp Head."

"Welcome to the club," Annabeth replied.

**Grover tried to calm me down. "It's okay. I like peanut butter."**

"With ketchup?" Aphrodite asked. She wrinkled her nose.

"Not really," Grover admitted.

**He dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch.**

" **That's it." I started to get up, but Grover pulled me back to my seat.**

" **You're already on probation," he reminded me. "You know who'll get blamed if anything happens."**

**Looking back on it, I wish I'd decked Nancy Bobofit right then and there.**

"Yes," Ares hissed, leaning forward. "Yes, you should."

I saw Percy roll his eyes, and Annabeth shook her head at him.

**In-school suspension would've been nothing compared to the mess I was about to get myself into.**

"Meaning?" Artemis asked curiously.

"Percy hasn't exactly had it easy, Lady Artemis," Grover replied.

Nico scoffed. "Meaning, of course, that while we've all had it rough, Percy has had five thousand times more problems to deal with."

"Yeah," Thalia continued. "I hate to agree with Death Breath over there, but there's a reason I said nobody would choose our lives."

The gods exchanged looks, somber.

Then Nico looked at Thalia scathingly. "Come one, Thals. If you're gonna give me a nickname, call me the Ghost King."

Thalia pretended to think about it. "Nah," she said finally. "Death Breath suits you. Besides, it's not like you and Kelp Head don't call me names."

"Shut up, Pinecone Face," Percy and Nico said together.

Everyone laughed. (Except Zeus—he just looked irritated that the boys were teasing his daughter)

"Case in point."

**Mr. Brunner led the museum tour.**

**He rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding us through the big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery.**

**It blew my mind that this stuff had survived for two thousand, three thousand years.**

"Longer," Zeus said happily.

"I love that exhibit," I mumbled quietly. Hestia smiled at me.

 **He gathered us around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top, and started telling us how it was a grave marker, a** _**stele** _ **, for a girl about our age. He told us about the carvings on the sides. I was trying to listen to what he had to say, because it was kind of interesting,**

"So you _are_ capable of listening," Annabeth said, giggling.

**but everybody around me was talking, and every time I told them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs. Dodds, would give me the evil eye.**

**Mrs. Dodds was this little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into your locker. She had come to Yancy halfway through the year, when our last math teacher had a nervous breakdown.**

Hades raised an eyebrow, and he and Nico shared a look. Nico nodded.

Hades seemed much more interested in the story then.

**From her first day, Mrs. Dodds loved Nancy Bobofit and figured I was devil spawn. She would point her crooked finger at me and say, "Now, honey," real sweet, and I knew I was going to get after-school detention for a month.**

**One time, after she'd made me erase answers out of old workbooks until midnight, I told Grover I didn't think Mrs. Dodds was human. He looked at me, real serious, and said, "You're absolutely right."**

"Nice one," Thalia said.

"I didn't think he'd take me seriously." Grover turned red again.

**Mr. Brunner kept talking about Greek funeral art.**

**Finally, Nancy Bobofit snickered something about the naked guy on the stele, and I turned around and said, "Will you** _**shut up?** _ **"**

**It came out louder than I meant it to.**

"Of course it did," Jason said softly, chuckling. Piper laughed with him.

**The whole group laughed. Mr. Brunner stopped his story.**

" **Mr. Jackson," he said, "did you have a comment?"**

**My face was totally red. I said, "No, sir."**

**Mr. Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele. "Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"**

**I looked at the carving, and felt a flash of relief, because I actually recognized it.**

"Percy, recognizing something?" Rachel asked, shocked. "No way!"

"Bet I can guess which it is," I breathed silently. Nico glanced at me, but said nothing.

" **That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"**

" **Yes," Mr. Brunner said, obviously not satisfied. "And he did this because…"**

" **Well…" I racked my brain to remember. "Kronos was the king god, and—"**

"God?!" said children shouted.

In Hestia's case, she'd at least moved away from me a bit.

"I'm sure Chiron corrected him," Annabeth said. Athena nodded.

" **God?" Mr. Brunner asked.**

"See?"

" **Titan," I corrected myself. "And…he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters—"**

" **Eeew!" said one of the girls behind me.**

"Yes, it was _quite_ disgusting," Hera said, shuddering. Hestia, Hades, Poseidon and Demeter did the same.

"— **and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans," I continued, "and the gods won."**

Athena seemed vaguely interested now. "You just…summed up the biggest war in history…in half of a sentence."

"Yeah," Percy said. "I guess so." He smiled charmingly at her, shrugging, then turned back to the book.

**Some snickers from the group.**

**Behind me, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids'."**

"Well, maybe in New Rome," Percy said with a smirk. "Huh, Jace?"

Jason pretended to think, then shrugged, also smirking. "Don't know. You'd have to get a _real_ job and quit stealing other people's."

Percy rolled his eyes, looking out at the others. "Gods. You become praetor _one_ time and you never live it down. I swear."

Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Percy, Frank, Hazel, and Nico all chuckled.

"Wait, what?" Ares asked suddenly. He leaned forward. "I thought you said you were Greek."

"I am," Percy replied. "I was only praetor for, like, half a second. Somebody—"

I swear he glared right towards Hera.

"—snatched me from my life and plopped me in New Rome."

Silence.

Dionysus looked like he was about to say something, but Artemis inadvertently cut him off. "I'm sure we'll find out soon. Let's continue."

" **And why, Mr. Jackson," Brunner said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"**

"Busted," Hermes and Apollo sang.

Percy laughed.

"What?" Apollo asked.

Percy held up a finger, then kept reading.

" **Busted," Grover muttered.**

Now nearly everyone laughed.

" **Shut up," Nancy hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair.**

**At least Nancy got packed, too. Mr. Brunner was the only one who ever caught her saying anything wrong. He had radar ears.**

"No, just that of a horse," Dionysus said boredly.

**I thought about his question, and shrugged. "I don't know, sir."**

" **I see." Mr. Brunner looked disappointed. "Well, half credit, Mr. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach. The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"**

"Oh, wow, Chiron," Piper giggled. "That's perfect."

**The class drifted off, the girls holding their stomachs, the guys pushing each other around and acting like doofuses.**

"As boys are bound to do," Artemis said. She sighed. "Some things never change."

**Grover and I were about to follow when Mr. Brunner said, "Mr. Jackson."**

**I knew that was coming.**

**I told Grover to keep going. Then I turned toward Mr. Brunner. "Sir?"**

**Mr. Brunner had this look that wouldn't let you go—intense brown eyes that could have been a thousand years old and had seen everything.**

"They have," Hestia whispered.

" **You must learn the answer to my question," Mr. Brunner told me.**

" **About the Titans?"**

" **About real life. And how your studies apply to it."**

" **Oh."**

"Don't 'oh'," Annabeth said. "He's right. That stuff is important."

"Sorry, Wise Girl," Percy sighed. "You know, I didn't believe in any of this then. I didn't even really start believing until long after I got to camp."

"Bet you believe now, huh?" Leo chuckled.

"Definitely."

" **What you learn from me," he said, "is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson."**

**I wanted to get angry, this guy pushed me so hard.**

"Only because he cares," Annabeth said.

**I mean, sure, it was kind of cool on tournament days, when he dressed up in a suit of Roman armor and shouted: "What ho!" and challenged us, sword-point against chalk, to run to the board and name every Greek and Roman person who had ever lived, and their mother, and what god they worshipped.**

"Even _I_ couldn't do that," Annabeth said.

Athena almost looked disappointed.

 **But Mr. Brunner expected me to be as good as everybody else, despite the fact that I have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder and I had never made above a C- in my life. No—he didn't expect me to be** _**as good** _ **; he expected me to be** _**better** _ **. And I just couldn't learn all those names and facts, much less spell them correctly.**

"I still can't," Percy interrupted himself. "Not all of them, at least."

"You've gotten better, though," Annabeth replied. She squeezed his arm.

"Only because you've taught me," Percy said happily. He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Aphrodite squealed while Athena glared. Poseidon looked conflicted, torn between happiness and hate.

**I mumbled something about trying harder, while Mr. Brunner took one long sad look at the stele like he'd been at this girl's funeral.**

"I wonder who it is." Demeter asked.

"I don't know," Athena said. "It's been a while since I was there."

**He told me to go outside and eat my lunch.**

**The class gathered on the front steps of the museum, where we could watch the foot traffic along Fifth Avenue.**

**Overhead, a huge storm was brewing, with clouds blacker than I'd ever seen over the city. I figured maybe it was global warming or something, because the weather all across New York state had been weird since Christmas. We'd had massive snow storms, flooding, wildfires from lightning strikes. I wouldn't have been surprised if this was a hurricane blowing in.**

"What are you two fighting about _now_?" Hera asked, rolling her eyes at Zeus and Poseidon.

"I don't know, dear," Zeus replied. He sighed. "I'm sure it will say at some point."

**Nobody else seemed to notice. Some of the guys were pelting pigeons with Lunchables crackers. Nancy Bobofit was trying to pick pocket something from a lady's purse, and, of course, Mrs. Dodds wasn't seeing a thing.**

"Are you sure she's not one of yours, Hermes?" Hades said with a smirk.

I giggled a little bit as Hermes thought about it. "Nah, she's not. Maybe she's one of Ares'. She seems mean enough."

"She's not mine!" Ares replied. "My kids are nowhere _near_ that sneaky."

 **Grover and I sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others. We thought that maybe if we did that, everybody wouldn't know we were from** _**that** _ **school—the school for loser freaks who couldn't make it elsewhere.**

"I don't think it worked," Grover said.

"Yeah, me neither," Percy chuckled.

" **Detention?" Grover asked.**

" **Nah," I said. "Not from Brunner. I just wish he'd lay off me sometimes. I mean—I'm not a genius."**

"We _all_ know that!" most of the kids shouted. Then everyone was laughing.

**Grover didn't say anything for a while. Then, when I thought he was going to give me some deep philosophical comment to make me feel better, he said, "Can I have your apple?"**

Grover turned red yet again as the room howled with laughter.

"Nice, Goat Boy," Annabeth giggled.

**I didn't have much of an appetite, so I let him take it.**

**I watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue, and thought about my mom's apartment, only a little ways uptown from where we sat. I hadn't seen her since Christmas. I wanted so bad to jump in a taxi and head home. She'd hug me and be glad to see me, but she'd be disappointed, too. She'd send me right back to Yancy, remind me that I had to try harder, even if this was my sixth school in six years**

Apollo and Hermes whistled in unison. "Wow," Hermes said slowly, shaking his head. "Quite a record."

"Yeah," Percy replied. "We all have them." He paused. "Well, the Greeks do. Not sure about the Romans."

"We're hanging with Lupa by then, usually," Jason interjected. "And New Rome has schools there, which are specially designed for demigods."

**and I was probably going to be kicked out again. I wouldn't be able to stand that sad look she'd give me.**

"Mama's boy," Ares said, smirking.

"And what's wrong with that?" Hera asked, looking at her son.

"Nothing, Mom," Ares said quickly, shrinking in his chair.

"That's what I thought," Hera replied with a smile. She looked at Percy. "You should treat your mother well."

Percy looked like he was gritting his teeth, but he nodded politely anyway.

**Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized café table.**

"Cool!" Leo said suddenly. He pulled a notepad out of one of the pockets of his tool belt. He started mumbling to himself, scribbling on the paper. When the room stayed silent, he looked up. "Oh, you can keep reading."

**I was about to unwrap my sandwich when Nancy Bobofit appeared in front of me with her ugly friends—I guess she'd gotten tired of stealing from the tourists—and dumped her half-eaten lunch in Grover's lap.**

A lot of groans.

" **Oops." She grinned at me with her crooked teeth. Her freckles were orange, as if somebody had spray-painted her face with liquid Cheetos.**

**I tried to stay cool. The school counselor had told me a million times, "Count to ten, get control of your temper." But I was so mad my mind went blank. A wave roared in my ears.**

The sound of collective eye-rolls was almost supersonic.

**I don't remember touching her, but the next thing I knew, Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming, "Percy pushed me!"**

**Mrs. Dodds materialized next to us.**

**Some of the kids were whispering: "Did you see—"**

"— **the water—"**

"— **like it grabbed her—"**

There was that noise again.

**I didn't know what they were talking about. All I knew was that I was in trouble again.**

**As soon as Mrs. Dodds was sure that poor little Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt at the museum gift shop, etc., etc., Mrs. Dodds turned on me. There was a triumphant fire in her eyes, as if I'd done something she'd been waiting for all semester. "Now, honey—"**

" **I know," I grumbled. "A month erasing workbooks."**

"Never guess your punishment!" Apollo and Hermes said.

**That wasn't the right thing to say.**

"Duh!"

" **Come with me," Mrs. Dodds said.**

" **Wait!" Grover yelped. "It was me.** _ **I**_ **pushed her."**

**I stared at him, stunned. I couldn't believe he was trying to cover for me. Mrs. Dodds scared Grover to death.**

"She still does," Grover grumbled.

**She glared at him so hard his whiskery chin trembled.**

" **I don't think so, Mr. Underwood," she said.** " **But—"**

" **You—** _ **will**_ **—stay—here."**

**Grover looked at me desperately.**

" **It's okay, man," I told him. "Thanks for trying."**

" **Honey," Mrs. Dodds barked at me.** _ **"Now."**_

**Nancy Bobofit smirked.**

**I gave her my deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare.**

Jason, Hazel, Frank, Annabeth, Grover, Thalia, Rachel, Nico, and Leo all shuddered.

"I remember that stare," Grover said, shivering.

"If it's anything like his wolf stare, it's pretty threatening," Hazel added.

"It can't be _that_ bad," Ares said, scoffing.

"It was enough to scare _Lord_ _Hades_ ," Nico replied. "I'd say it's pretty bad." Hades looked like he wanted to protest—whether about the stare scaring him or his son not calling him _Dad_ , I wasn't quite sure.

Percy just smirked and continued reading.

**Then I turned to face Mrs. Dodds, but she wasn't there. She was standing at the museum entrance, way at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently at me to come on.**

**How'd she get there so fast?**

**I have moments like that a lot, when my brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing I know I've missed something, as if a puzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the blank space behind it. The school councilor told me this was part of my ADHD, my brain misinterpreting things.**

"Of course they want you medicated," Hephaestus said gruffly. "Most of them are monsters."

"I said the same thing," Annabeth said with a smile. "Almost word for word."

"Smart girl," he replied, nodding.

**I wasn't so sure.**

**I went after Mrs. Dodds.**

**Halfway up the steps, I glance back at Grover. He was looking pale, cutting his eyes between me and Mr. Brunner, like he wanted Mr. Brunner to notice what was going on, but Mr. Brunner was absorbed in his novel.**

**I looked back up. Mrs. Dodds had disappeared again. She was now inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall.**

**Okay, I thought. She's going to make me buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift shop.**

**But apparently that wasn't the plan.**

"Of course not," Nico mumbled beside me.

**I followed her deeper into the museum. When I finally caught up to her, we were back in the Greek and Roman section.**

**Except for us, the gallery was empty.**

**Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She was making this weird noise in her throat, like growling.**

**Even without the noise, I would've been nervous. It's weird being alone with a teacher, especially Mrs. Dodds. Something about the way she looked at the frieze, as if she wanted to pulverize it…**

**"You've been giving us problems, honey," she said.**

**I did the safe thing. I said, "Yes, ma'am."**

"Good boy," Artemis said, nodding thoughtfully. "I doubt it makes a difference in the turn of events, but treating a woman with respect is always, in fact, the safe thing."

"Thank you, Lady Artemis."

**She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?"**

**The look in her eyes was beyond mad. It was evil.**

**She's a teacher, I thought nervously. It's not like she's going to hurt me.**

"Well…" Hazel trailed off.

**I said, "I'll-I'll try harder, ma'am."**

**Thunder shook the building.**

**"We are not fools, Percy Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain. "**

**I didn't know what she was talking about.**

**All I could think of was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy I'd been selling out of my dorm room. Or maybe they'd realized I got my essay on** _**Tom Sawyer** _ **from the Internet without ever reading the book and now they were going to take away my grade. Or worse, they were going to make me read the book.**

"Oh, you are _so_ reading that book after the war," Annabeth said. "I'll make you survive just for that."

Percy groaned.

**"Well?" she demanded.**

**"Ma'am, I don't..."**

**"Your time is up," she hissed.**

**Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shriveled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice me to ribbons.**

"You sent a Fury after my son?!" Poseidon shouted.

Hades flinched. "Well, technically, it appears so. But there could be any number of reasons for it."

"Don't sweat it, Dad," Percy spoke up. "Me and Uncle Hades have an agreement of sorts after this. Much better terms, promise."

Poseidon settled back in his chair, though he did shoot a glare at Hades. He wasn't paying attention, though; he was looking at Percy with an odd look on his face.

**Then things got even stranger.**

**Mr. Brunner, who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand.**

**"What ho, Percy!" he shouted, and tossed the pen through the air.**

"A pen?!" Apollo asked. "What's a pen gonna do?"

Percy pulled a pen from his pocket, handing the book to Annabeth so he could uncap it. When he did, the pen grew outward, stretching into a bronze sword.

At the exact same time, I got a pain behind my eyes. "Gah!" I gasped. Vaguely, I noticed Nico, Aphrodite, Hera, Artemis, and Hestia look over at me.

Images flashed under my lids, almost too quick to process:

A young girl and boy, running through a garden.

A gold dragon.

A hairclip that looked like a metal holly plant.

A bronze sword glinting in the moonlight.

The sun setting behind a black mountain.

A statue of stone in the shape of a man, his arms held above to lift a dark vortex.

Five girls, dancing and laughing around a tree of golden apples, dressed in flowing gossamer gowns.

I pitched forward toward the ground. Arms caught me before my body hit the ground, and I found myself looking up into calm **—** though with an underlying panic **—** obsidian eyes. Before I could concentrate on them, though, the pain returned, and my eyes rolled up into their sockets, and I slumped further into the embrace, my head lolling back as my consciousness faded.

"Oh my gods!" I heard someone scream, far off to my left. It was high pitched, like a bird. There was a scramble of footsteps, shadows in front of my eyelids, a warm hand on my forehead and a cold one on my arm.

Then it all went black.


	4. Chapter 4

When I woke up, it was to a bright light shining in my eye. I flinched, throwing my arms up to cover my face.

“Ow!” someone whined to my right, just as I felt my hand connect with something soft.

“That didn’t hurt!” another voice hissed. There was another sound, like a slap.

“Ow!” the first voice said again, even louder. “That did, little sis!”

“It was supposed to.”

What is happening? I thought. Then the memories came rushing back: getting beamed to the Empire State Building, meeting the great gods of Olympus, reading with them and their children.

I bolted up, breathing heavily, and looked around.

“Whoa, there!”

I looked over at the sound of the first voice to see the one I knew to be Apollo. He had one of those doctor lights in his hand—you know, those little pen-lights?

To my other side was his twin, Artemis. She stepped toward me, putting a hand on my shoulder to get me to lay back down.

“Slow down, sister,” she said softly. “You took quite a spill.”

“What happened?”

The twins exchanged a look, then Apollo said, “We were hoping you knew.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

He picked up a clipboard lying at the end of the bed, flipping through the charts. It was only then that I realized I was in what looked like a posh hospital room. The bed was bigger than a normal hospital bed, but in the same style. The walls were a soft yellow color, like the sun, or even a bloated full moon.

“Medically speaking, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with you,” Apollo continued, drawing my attention back to him. “No brain injuries, nothing in your blood… _nothing_. Magically speaking, though…”

“Maiden, are you certain you are a mortal?” Artemis asked.

“Yeah,” I replied, facing the ceiling. “I mean…of course I am. I’m not even from this dimension. My world doesn’t even have gods.”

“Of course it does!” Apollo said cheerily. “All of them do! Just because you can’t see them doesn’t mean they aren’t there.”

“Well…I’m sixteen. Shouldn’t I have gone to camp or died already?”

“Hmm…Not necessarily,” Apollo replied. “If your parent isn’t so important—like if your mom is Iris or Hebe, or if your dad is Hypnos or Thanatos—you might not be detected.”

“Oh…” I muttered. “Well, there was this one thing…”

“Yes?” Artemis asked. She looked over at me from where she was looking at the chart with Apollo.

“Well,” I started. “I was in a bad accident when I was eleven…a hit and run, I guess. Killed my parents. I was pretty banged up.” I paused. “I don’t remember anything before I woke up in the hospital…” I shook my head. “Anyway, my…brother…told me that someone snuck into my hospital room and…well, for lack of a better term, slashed me to pieces.” Artemis raised a brow, and I looked away. “Yeah, well, it got weirder. After my second surgery, when I was in the ICU, I woke up to find this little boy—maybe three or four—just sitting on my bed. He said he’d been waiting for me.” I laughed a little. “I just thought it was a kid being cute, but…he gave me this piece of candy, and it made me feel better. He also said he’d ‘check in every few years’, but I haven’t seen him since.”

The two gods exchanged yet another look.

“What did this boy look like?” Apollo asked.

“Uh…blond, blue eyes, about three foot tall, olive skin?”

Apollo thought about it for a second, then held up a finger, walking to the door. I watched as he opened it, sticking his head out. “Hermes!” he called. “Get over here!”

There was a series of thumping footsteps, and then Hermes was in the room with us. “What’s up?”

“You know how you keep bragging about that kid of yours?” Apollo asked quietly. “The Castellan boy?”

“Yeah, why?” Hermes looked seriously confused.

“You still have that picture?”

Hermes pulled a wallet out of his back pocket, flipping it open. An accordion a pictures fell out, curling on the floor. “Whoops,” he said, picking up the last picture in the row. Pulling it out of its jacket, he handed it to Apollo, who brought it to me.

“Is this the boy you saw?”

I looked at the picture; it was a little boy—maybe three years old—with blond hair and blue eyes, sitting on Hermes’ shoulders. Both were laughing, looking oh so happy.

I nodded, glancing at Apollo, then Hermes. “Yeah, that’s the kid.”

Artemis nodded thoughtfully. “How odd.”

“Well, maybe it’s a dimension thing?” Apollo offered. “I mean, if she came from another dimension.”

“What do you mean ‘if’?” I asked. “Of course I did! And wouldn’t you know? You’re the one who brought me here, right?”

“Well, no,” he replied. “I came up with the idea to get someone from the future, yes, but I don’t have the power to actually _do_ it.”

I blinked. “Okaaaay,” I said slowly. “Anyway…”

“What was this candy he gave you?” Artemis asked suddenly. I blinked at her. “You said the child gave you a piece of candy, and you felt better. What was it?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. He just gave it to me, saying it would make me feel better. I asked him what flavor it was, but he only asked me what my favorite food was.” I looked up at the ceiling, sighing. “Which reminds me—the boy had this book…it was weird.”

“What kind of book?” Artemis asked warily.

“Leather-bound, about four inches thick. He said he 'snuck it through customs' the day before he came looking for me. Said he had a friend on the 'other side' who _really_ liked to watch TV.”

Apollo raised a brow. “The other side of _what_?”

I shrugged again. “Not sure. But he kept going on and on about souls, and how ‘it’s always difficult when a soul gets put into a body, rather than born into one’. What does that even mean? What does it have to do with my memory loss? Why does a book about people exist like that? Who--” I winced, rubbing my temple.

In an instant, Artemis was at my side, prying my eyes open. “Your pupils are heavily dilated. We need to…” Her voice faded out as the scene in front of me bled away into a different one.

Within minutes, I was standing in a field. There were green hills all around, and I thought I heard the sound of an ocean or body of water just over the rise. Far above me, in place of blue sky, was a vaulting ceiling of stone, embedded with glittering stalactite crystals.

“Hey!” a voice called out behind me.

I turned, smiling. Vaguely, I noticed that I was wearing a Roman style dress—a purple one hat flowed gently to the ground, hugging my chest before flaring out. Also, I seemed to be taller—by nearly half of a foot. “Luke!” I said happily as a young man ran up to me. I curtsied cutely when he stopped in front of me. “It is such a pleasure to see thou again!”

He grinned, his eyes lighting up. He was wearing a green t-shirt and khaki shorts, leather sandals on his feet. There was a scar under his eye—a pale line stretching from his cheekbone to his jaw.

Suddenly, he swept me up into his arms, laughing. I shrieked out a laugh. “I missed you!” he shouted excitedly as he set me down.

“Thou just saw me yesterday,” I replied, catching my breath.

Luke smiled gently, brushing a lock of hair from my face. Then he grabbed my hand. “Come here,” he said, tugging me forward. “I want to show you something.”

“Alright.” I followed him quickly as he ran up the closest hill. At the top, he stopped, but he didn’t let go of my hand as he pointed with his free one.

“See that cliff, way over there?”

“Yes?”

“There’s something going on over there,” he replied. “I don’t know what it is, but…” he trailed off for a second before shaking out of it. “I’ve been hearing these voices. One is a woman’s—she sounds kind of like she just woke up. Or maybe she’s trying to wake up. The other one is a man…” Another pause. “He sounds kind of like your dad, actually.” I felt myself freeze, clutching Luke’s hand tighter. “It’s different, though. Older. Darker, if that’s possible, and angrier.”

I scoffed. “Angrier than Father? Really?”

Luke turned to me. “Hey,” he said softly. I looked up at him, and he touched my cheek. I could see my frightful eyes—the color of freshly polished silver rather than their normal green hue—reflected in his blue ones. “It’s okay.”

“I know. I just…”

“I know.” He twisted a lock of my hair around his finger. “Hey, do you remember your first life?”

I nodded. “Yes. I was a mortal girl—Cassandra. I lived in Pompeii. I didn’t make it out before…”

“I don’t remember mine,” he said quietly. He seemed almost sad. “I guess I’m a new soul.”

“Unsurprising.” I grinned. “Thou’rt much too modern to be an old soul.”

“Well, I guess I shouldn’t be falling for such an old woman, huh?”

“Certainly not.” I smiled, and he smiled back.

“You only have one more heroic life left, my dear,” Luke said softly. He smirked as he said the endearment, as if proud to have been able to speak so... _English_.

“And thou have two.”

“We could go the next together—maybe we’ll meet then.”

“Hmm,” I hummed. “Perhaps…”

Luke leaned down, placing a kiss to my cheek. “I’m so happy you’ve forgiven me,” he whispered.

“It was not your fault. You were not the cause.”

“Still,” he insisted, wrapping his arms around my waist. “If I hadn’t overreacted—if I’d given my dad a chance to apologize—this wouldn’t have happened to you. To us. To Percy and Annabeth and all those poor kids at camp.”

“Thou must not hold this against yourself. Everything resolved itself, more or less. You cannot always change destiny, and everyone deserves forgiveness.”

Luke looked down, gazing into my eyes for a moment. As he leaned closer, I heard him whisper, “I love you, Zoë Nightshade.”

Then he kissed me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trash and I'm sorry. (But not really.)


	5. Chapter 5

“Belle?”

“Belle!”

“Belle? Belle!”

I opened my eyes, only to slam them back shut against a blinding light. “I’m fine,” I ground out.

I heard a quiet sigh of relief, and the light behind my eyes slowly faded enough so that I felt I could open them.

Apollo was staring at me from across the room, as if trying to decipher the meaning of the universe by observation. Hermes was still by the door, trying to get all of the pictures back into his wallet; I was suddenly struck by how similar he and Luke looked—same bright blue eyes and sunny blond hair, same mischievous look to them. Artemis was leaning against a wall to the left of the bed, also observing. I turned to the left to find the source of the voices.

Nico, Thalia, Rachel, and Leo were all standing by my bed. Well, correction: Thalia was standing next to the bed. Nico was leaning against the wall nearby, while Rachel seemed to be trying to put out a fire that had somehow occurred in Leo’s hair.

“What are you—” I started, but Apollo interrupted me.

“You had another vision, didn’t you?”

I snapped my head around, staring at him. “What?”

“I said,” he replied slowly, “did you have another vision?”

I looked down, nodding.

“What was it? No wait,” he stopped, waving a hand. “Actually, why don’t you tell us what the first one was?”

I blushed. “You mean when I saw Percy’s sword.” It wasn’t a question, but I saw him nod anyway. “It wasn’t really a vision. More like flashes.”

“Of what?” Leo asked, stepping up by the bed.

“Two kids running through a garden. A gold dragon. Apples glittering in the sun. Girls dancing. The sun setting behind a black mountain. A hairclip of metal flowers. A bronze sword,” I listed, then paused. “Percy’s sword.”

No one said anything for a moment. Then Rachel spoke.

“And your second vision?”

“Much more like a vision than the first,” I replied. “But…I don’t think it was the future, nor the distant past. It happened recently…”

“Go on,” Nico said gruffly. “What happened?”

I glanced his way, but looked back at my hands quickly. “Zoë.”

Thalia and Artemis shared a look. “What?” Thalia asked.

“A boy—Luke—he called me Zoë.” I blushed. “I think—I think we were dead. We were dead together, stuck in...Elysium. He found me—I was standing in a field, trapped under a vault of stone, and he called out behind me.” Another pause as I took a breath. “I was, um, wearing a Roman dress, and I was talking weird. Like, Old English or something. Thou’s instead of you’s and alright’s instead of okay’s, you know.

“He said he missed me, but I said he’d just seen me the day before. He took me to the top of a hill and pointed to a cliff, saying he thought something was going on over there. He didn’t know what, but he said he’d been hearing voices—a sleepy woman and an angry man.” I looked up at the ceiling, narrowing my eyes. “He said the man sounded like my father, only darker and angrier. He kept apologizing for getting us stuck there. I told him it was okay…he said some things…and then he called me Zoë Nightshade.”

I saw Thalia’s eyes narrow. “What do you mean, ‘he said some things’?”

“Oh, um…Just that he wished he hadn’t overreacted, that he wished he’d given his father a chance to apologize. Oh, and we talked about our lives.”

“Meaning?” Nico asked.

“Like,” I said, then paused. “Well, he wanted to know if I remembered my first life. I said I did, but he said he couldn’t remember his. He said that meant he was a new soul, and he really shouldn’t be…hanging out…with such an old woman.” I laughed lightly, scratching a scar on my neck.

“Are you sure he called you Zoë?” Artemis asked, inching closer.

I nodded. “Positive.”

“Well,” Hermes said, clapping his hands together and making the rest of us jump. “I think that’s enough for today. Belle? Can I ask you some questions?” He gazed at me, smiling widely. His eyes looked weirdly serious, though. “Alone?”

I nodded, then felt a grip on my hand. I looked up at Artemis. “Are you certain, sister?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “I’ll be fine.”

Soon enough, everyone but Hermes was filing out of the room—albeit reluctantly.

When it was just us, Hermes’ smile fell. He inched toward me, shuffling his feet. Finally, he settled on the edge of the bed. He stayed silent for a moment.

Then…

“What really happened?” he asked softly.

“Excuse me?” I looked at him, startled.

“What happened? I know you left something out.”

“Well…he did find me in a field, and we did talk about the voices and past lives. He said he wished he’d let his father apologize, and that maybe if he had, we wouldn’t have been there, and nothing would have happened to ‘Percy and Annabeth and all those kids at camp’.”

Hermes nodded. “And then?”

“Nothing. I woke up.”

“Belle, don’t try to lie. I’m the god of mischief.”

“Right.” I blushed. “He said he was happy I forgave him…and he didn’t exactly say he shouldn’t be _hanging out_ with such an old woman…”

He nodded again. “He said he shouldn’t be falling for one.”

I looked up at him, nodding. “How did you know?”

Hermes smiled. “Because that’s what I would have said.”


	6. Chapter 6

Ten minutes later, Hermes brought me back to the throne room, where everyone was just sitting around, waiting and talking in small groups.

“What’d I miss?” I asked Hestia as I took a seat next hers. She glanced over at me, then wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Um, okay?”

“Thank Olympus you’re alright!” she whispered.

“Yeah,” I mumbled. “No biggie.”

“That was not nothing!” She looked red with anxiousness. “You fainted when you saw Percy’s sword!”

Someone tapped on my shoulder, and I squeaked. Looking over, I saw Piper sitting next to me. Behind her, Jason was chatting with Percy and Annabeth. I just looked at her. “Yes?”

“Hello,” she replied. “Are you okay?”

I shrugged. “Other than apocalyptic visions, yeah, I guess.”

She blushed prettily. “Yeah, I know how you feel.”

I smiled. “Good to know.”

“I’m glad you’re okay, Belle,” she said genuinely. “Leo, Nico, Rachel, and Annabeth were really worried. So were a couple of the gods.”

“Really?” She nodded. “Wow.”

“Yeah, we’re all glad you’re okay,” she said as Jason started over. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, kissing the top of her head.

“Hi,” Jason said. “I’m Jason.”

I nodded, shaking his hand. “M…Belle. Nice meeting you. Both of you.”

Piper smiled again, looking up at Jason. “Hey, you.” She kissed his cheek. “Percy and Annabeth figure anything out?”

“Nah,” he replied. “Annabeth’s racking her brain for an answer, without success. And Pers just keeps staring at his pen with that dumb look on his face.”

Piper glanced at me. “We’re all wondering why you freaked when you saw Percy’s sword,” she explained. “Apollo and Artemis aren’t saying anything. Nico doesn’t talk much in the first place—”

“Hey!” Jason protested. “He talks to me!”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Anyway, he’s not saying anything. And Thalia yells at anyone who gets too close.”

“What about Leo and Rachel?” I asked. “They were there.”

“No dice,” Percy said, popping up next to me. “I tried to ask Rachel, and she just laughed weirdly and walked away.”

“Same with Leo,” Piper replied. They all looked at me, making me blush and scootch further away. “So, what happened?”

“I-I-I—”

“Children,” a voice said next to me. I flinched, looking up.

“Lady Demeter,” I said in surprise. “Hello.”

“Hello, dear,” she replied sweetly, putting an arm around my shoulders. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” She pulled a bag out of thin air. “Would you like a crisp? I know fainting spells can be exhausting.”

I nodded, taking the bag. “Thank you.” Opening the bag, I popped a chip in my mouth—they were wheat (unsurprisingly) and seasoned with just a bit of salt. “Mm,” I hummed. “These are good.” I smiled at the goddess.

“Good,” Demeter said with a smile. “You know, wheat is very important. You should eat lots of bread and crackers and—”

“Cereal?” I heard Percy mutter.

Demeter beamed. “Yes! See, Perseus is smart! He understands the importance of cereal.”

I smiled, laughing a little. I ate another chip. “I can understand that.”

“That’s good.” Demeter hummed shortly, then sighed. “Oh, you could be my daughter!”

I blushed. “Well, um…” I trailed off. Then I realized. “Hey, when are we going to keep reading?”

Piper shrugged. “Probably whenever Lord Zeus gets tired of talking to his wife.” She nodded to where Hera had cornered the king of the gods on the other side of the room.

Percy scoffed, rolling his eyes. “In that case, right about—”

“Let’s get back to these books!”

“—now.”

Jason laughed. “Nice, bro.” The two boys fist-bumped as Piper and I rolled our eyes. Demeter gave my head a pat before going to her seat.

“Hey,” Percy said suddenly. He turned to me. “I think Annabeth wanted to talk to you. You should come over and sit with us.”

“I—”

“Demigods,” Hestia said as she took her seat. “You should get back to your seats.”

“Of course, Lady Ve—Hestia,” Jason corrected. He and Piper gave a smile before heading back to their seats.

“You coming?” Percy asked me, looking hopeful.

“Sure, I’ll go.” I made to stand, when a shadow passed over the two of us.

“Where are you going?” Nico asked softly, shooting a glare at Percy.

“Chill, dude,” Percy said coldly. “Annabeth wants to talk to Belle for a second.”

Nico scoffed. “She could have come over here with you.”

“Yeah, well, she didn’t.”

“Yeah, well,” Nico replied mockingly, “now it’s too late. She can ask her questions during the next break.”

“Annabeth won’t be happy about this,” Percy growled.

I was watching the two of them closely, swinging back and forth. The tension was clear: the area surrounding Nico kept getting darker and darker, and I swore I felt a breeze coming from the air around Percy. Neither of them seemed to notice that everyone was staring.

“Hey,” I said quietly. Both boys turned on me. “Is Annabeth that impatient?”

Percy calmed down a little. “Well, no, but—”

“Then I can talk to her later,” I replied. “Get back to your seat, Percy.”

He huffed, shooting a look at Nico before going back to his seat.

"Now that we are all _back in our seats_ ," Zeus huffed, glaring at both of his nephews. "Let's keep reading. Where did we leave off, again?"

"When Chiron threw the pen, Father," Athena replied. She glanced over at me for a split second before looking over to Percy. "That was why Perseus pulled his sword, remember?"

"Yes, of course. Well...let the boy continue reading."

Percy looked like he was going to protest, but thought better of it. Picking up the book from where it lay on the cushion next to him, he quickly found his page and cleared his throat to begin.

**Mrs. Dodds lunged at me.**

**With a yelp, I dodged and felt talons slash the air next to my ear. I snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air, but when it hit my hand, it wasn't a pen anymore. It was a sword—Mr. Brunner's bronze sword, which he always used on tournament day.**

Percy smiled.

**Mrs. Dodds spun toward me with a murderous look in her eyes.**

**My knees were jelly. My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the sword.**

"Jeez, kid," Ares growled. "Man up! You'll never win a fight like that."

I thought I saw Percy and Annabeth smirking, but it was hard to tell—I was more focused on trying to eat my chips quietly.

**She snarled, "Die, honey!"**

"Seriously, what is with the 'honey'!" Leo burst out. He and Frank shuddered.

Nico and Hades just shrugged. "She's like that," they said simultaneously.

**And she flew straight at me.**

**Absolute terror ran through my body. I did the only thing that came naturally:**

"Panic?" Thalia grunted.

"Of course not," Percy said indignantly. "Shut up, Pinecone Face."

"Make me, Kelp Head."

"Anyway," Percy said. "Where was I? Oh..." He reread the line, then continued.

**I swung the sword.**

I watched everyone slowly turn towards Percy, stopping him just as he took a breath to keep going.

"What?" he asked.

"Bro," Jason said slowly. "The book does not say that the only thing that came naturally to you—in your _first_ fight against one of the _worst_ monsters—was to swing a sword that magically appeared in your hand."

"Yes, it does," Percy replied, looking back down at the page. "Right here. It says when it hit my hand it wasn't a pen...it was a sword...She flew straight at me...I did the only thing that came naturally...I swung the sword." He nodded. "Yeah...And that's exactly how it happened, too...weird."

"I don't believe you, kid," Ares said, shaking his head. "Even if your automatic reaction was to swing the sword, there's no _way_ you hit her enough to kill. It takes people _years_ to learn swordsmanship like that."

"It's true, Percy," Annabeth cut in. "Remember your first session? How... _he_...was surprised you didn't immediately cave? It's because no one's ever learned that quickly."

"Huh," Percy said. "Cool."

A couple of male gods raised a brow. Piper, Demeter, Annabeth, Aphrodite, and I giggled.

**The metal blade hit her shoulder and passed clean through her body as if she were made of water. _Hisss!_**

"If we didn't already know he was Barnacle Beard's sea spawn," Athena said in exasperation, "we would by all of these water references."

"What can I say?" Percy replied with a shrug, grinning. "Water's my _element_."

Everyone either groaned or scoffed at the pun, but Poseidon actually got up to hi-five his son.

**Mrs. Dodds was a sand castle in a power fan. She exploded into yellow powder, vaporized on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air, as if those two glowing red eyes were still watching me.**

"That is just..." Piper said with a wrinkle of her nose.

"Morbid?" Rachel offered.

"Yes."

**I was alone.**

**There was a ballpoint pen in my hand.**

**Mr. Brunner wasn't there. Nobody was there but me.**

"The Mist?" Hazel questioned.

"Yeah..." Percy trailed. "I guess I was still letting it affect me."

She nodded.

**My hands were still trembling. My lunch must've been contaminated with magic mushrooms or something.**

"Really, dude?" Apollo asked, shaking his head. "Magic mushrooms?"

**Had I imagined the whole thing?**

**I went back outside.**

**It had started to rain.**

**Grover was sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his head. Nancy Bobofit was still standing there, soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ugly friends. When she saw me, she said, "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."**

"Who?" Leo, Frank, Hermes, Apollo, and Rachel asked.

Annabeth, looking over Percy's shoulder to read with him, giggled, making Percy smile.

**I said, "Who?"**

Chuckles were heard around the room.

**"Our _teacher_. Duh!"**

**I blinked. We had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr. I asked Nancy what she was talking about.**

**She just rolled her eyes and turned away.**

**I asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds was.**

**He said, "Who?"**

**But he paused first, and he wouldn't look at me, so I thought he was messing with me.**

"Not exactly..." Grover trailed.

"You need to work on your lying, satyr," Hermes said happily.

**"Not funny, man," I told him. "This is serious."**

**Thunder boomed overhead.**

**I saw Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, reading his book, as if he'd never moved.**

**I went over to him.**

**He looked up, a little distracted. "Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson."**

**I handed Mr. Brunner his pen. I hadn't even realized I was still holding it.**

**"Sir," I said, "where's Mrs. Dodds?"**

**He stared at me blankly. "Who?"**

**"The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher."**

**He frowned and sat forward, looking mildly concerned. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling all right?"**

"Now Chiron..." Apollo whistled, grinning. "He knows how to lie."

"To be fair," Annabeth interjected, "he's had a few thousand years to perfect it."

"True enough," Zeus replied gruffly. "Who is reading next?"

"I will," Grover sighed. A few people raised their eyebrows. "I'm the only other one here that's been in the book so far," he explained, shrugging. "And I have a bad feeling that I know what's coming. Percy's going to need to be focused to explain."

A couple of grumbles were heard throughout the room as Percy tossed the book over.

Grover flipped to chapter two, glancing at the title. He paled a bit, but nodded as if he expected it. Clearing his throat, he began to read.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to reiterate that I am, indeed, absolute garbage.

**Two**

**THREE OLD LADIES KNIT THE SOCKS OF DEATH**

**I was used to the occasional weird experience, but usually they were over quickly. This twenty- four/seven hallucination was more than I could handle.**

"What do you mean _'occasional_ weird experience'?" Thalia said sarcastically. "Your whole life is a weird experience, Kelp Head. Just take how you met Annie." She snickered.

Percy looked shocked, turning to the girl next to him. "You _told_ her?"

"You bet, Pers," Rachel said with a grin. "And judging from the progression of this book, everyone else is gonna know soon enough."

Percy groaned. A couple of gods (Apollo, Ares, Hermes, Aphrodite) snickered.

**For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on me. The students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr—a perky blond woman whom I'd never seen in my life until she got on our bus at the end of the field trip—had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas.**

**Every so often I would spring a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, just to see if I could trip them up, but they would stare at me like I was psycho.**

Annabeth muttered something to Percy, making him laugh.

**It got so I almost believed them—Mrs. Dodds had never existed.**

**Almost.**

"Ten drachmas it's Grover's fault," Apollo said to Ares.

The war god seemed to think about it. "You're on," he said finally. "Even if the satyr can't lie, there's no way this kid could pick it up that fast."

I turned to Hestia. "Should he really be betting against the Oracle god?" I whispered.

She sent a small grin and a wink my way. "No."

**But Grover couldn't fool me.**

"Ha!" Apollo said excitedly. "Pay up!"

"Stupid future-teller," Ares muttered, handing the money over to the sound of many chuckles.

**When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, then claim she didn't exist. But I knew he was lying.**

**Something was going on. Something _had_ happened at the museum. **

**I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold sweat.**

Many people shivered.

**The freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood. One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in my dorm room. A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy. One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year.**

Jason whistled. "Well, I see _your_ tempers are completely in check," he said with a cheeky smile. His dad looked uncomfortable, as did Poseidon.

**I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time. My grades slipped from Ds to Fs. I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends. I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class.**

"I wonder why that is?" Frank wondered aloud.

"It could be his connection to the sea," Leo offered. "Or just 'cuz his dad's involved."

"Maybe it's the weather," Hazel supplied. "That puts people in a bad mood, right?"

"No weather causes someone to be in that bad of a mood," Demeter said kindly.

"Maybe it's 'cuz his best friend is lying to him," Apollo stated. "It could be hurting his feelings, making him lash out."

"This is why machines are better than people," Hephaestus grumbled to his wife. "Much less complicated."

Suddenly, almost two thirds of the room was arguing. Only Dionysus, Artemis, Hades, Hestia, Nico, Rachel, Grover, Thalia, Percy, Annabeth, and I stayed out of it.

Zeus and Hera seemed to be fighting over whether the reason was weather based or because he missed his mother. Apollo, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, and Ares were debating on the difference between protective lying, lies of omission, and lying to loved ones. Demeter, Poseidon, and Athena were talking across to Hazel, Jason, and Frank about how strong parental bonds were; and Hermes, Leo, and Piper were having a serious discussion about whether manipulation of the brain was _really_ the same as lying.

"They're making this more difficult than it needs to be," I muttered to Nico and Hestia. Both looked at me. "I mean, uh...someone being upset doesn't have to be for one reason or the other, right?"

"Not necessarily, no," Hestia agreed.

"Plus, stress could have been making him more susceptible to all those factors," Nico pointed out.

"Yeah," I replied. "Like, the museum incident gave him nightmares, which probably tired him out." I noticed Hermes looking over, along with Athena and the other couple of gods who hadn't been arguing, but kept going. "People are always more honest when they're tired. Add that to the crappy weather, which blew out his windows and with which he's probably somehow spiritually connected with because of his father, whom he doesn't even know..." By this point, most of the demigods were looking over at us, probably wondering what the quiet girl was saying. "...and the fact that he obviously wasn’t very focused to begin with..." All the gods looked over, too, except for Zeus, Hera, Ares, and Apollo. "...and his best friend lying to him, and the suspicion that his favorite teacher is doing the same..."

"All of which must be very stressful to such a young child," Hestia said thoughtfully.

"Exactly," I finished happily. "And stress causes people to do many things they wouldn't normally."

At this point, even Percy was nodding, so I guess I made my point.

Annabeth raised her eyebrow, as did Athena. "How did you figure all of that out?"

It was now clear that everyone had heard what I'd been saying, which only served to make me blush bright red. "I-I-I--" I paused. "I…took a psychology course last year..."

Athena's eyes narrowed. "How old did you say you were, mortal?"

"Seventeen..." I trailed. "Eighteen in two months."

"And yet you took a psychology course already? You must be very smart, indeed." Her eyes were still hard, though.

I shrugged. "Anyway, that's my guess. He was probably just stressed from _all_ the factors influencing him, not just one."

Percy nodded. "I can't remember how exactly I was feeling at the time, but that actually makes a lot of sense."

Everyone was still looking at me with weird looks, so I said, "Let's keep reading, huh? So we get done quickly?"

That snapped them back.

**Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped. I called him an old sot. I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good.**

"It means old drunkard," Athena and Annabeth both said.

Almost everyone else rolled their eyes.

**The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy.**

**Fine, I told myself. Just fine.**

**I was homesick.**

**I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, even if I had to go to public school and put up with my obnoxious stepfather and his stupid poker parties.**

"Paul's not so bad," Nico and Rachel both said. Then Rachel continued, "I didn't know he played poker."

Annabeth and Grover were already shaking their heads, and I caught a glimpse of Percy's hands tightening into fists.

"Not Paul," Grover said.

"Oh," Rachel muttered.

 _"Him,"_ Nico growled, his face going dark; obviously, he'd heard about this man.

Poseidon's face darkened, but he also looked curious. I'd guess that, though he'd never met the man, he felt very protective over his son and former…girlfriend.

**And yet...there were things I'd miss at Yancy. The view of the woods out my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees.**

"And I thought you didn't care about nature when we met," Rachel said. "You’re almost as much of an activist as Grover and I are."

**I'd miss Grover, who'd been a good friend, even if he was a little strange. I worried how he'd survive next year without me.**

**I'd miss Latin class, too-Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days and his faith that I could do well.**

**As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for.**

Athena tsked.

**I hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner had told me about this subject being life-and-death for me. I wasn't sure why, but I'd started to believe him.**

"Must be your demigod blood," Hazel blurted. "And it _is_ life and death."

"I know that _now."_

**The evening before my final, I got so frustrated I threw the _Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology_ across my dorm room.**

I thought I heard Athena grumble something about defacing sacred text, but it was hard to distinguish from Artemis' grumbles about male violence.

**Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one- eighties as if they were riding skateboards.**

"I hate dyslexia," most demigods muttered.

"Be happy you're normal," Frank replied. "All I got was lactose intolerance, and I turn into an _iguana_ when I panic."

Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Hazel, and Leo all laughed. Ares raised a brow, but (upon a look from Hera) he said nothing.

**There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon, or Polydictes and Polydeuces.**

"You do now," Annabeth said with a roll of her grey eyes.

"Oh yeah," Percy agreed, shuttering. "Learned that lesson the hard way."

Annabeth and Grover chuckled nervously. "Both of them," Grover muttered.

**And conjugating those Latin verbs? Forget it.**

"It's not _that_ hard," Jason said. Hazel and Frank nodded.

"I'm Greek," Percy said flatly. "My mind can't automatically translate Latin as well."

"Well, there was that one time..." Grover muttered. He was ignored.

"You held your own in New Rome," Frank pointed out.

"I had someone pulling my brain strings in New Rome."

**I paced the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt.**

**I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes. _I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson_. **

**I took a deep breath. I picked up the mythology book.**

**I'd never asked a teacher for help before. Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers. At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam.**

"You didn't fail," Grover said suddenly. "I mean, Chiron said you didn't do too bad. Like, a B, even."

"Really...."

**I didn't want to leave Yancy Academy with him thinking I hadn't tried.**

**I walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor.**

**I was three steps from the door handle when I heard voices inside the office. Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice that was definitely Grover's said "...worried about Percy, sir."**

**I froze.**

**I'm not usually an eavesdropper,**

"Liar," Annabeth, Thalia, and Frank said.

"Before this," Percy allowed. "Before this, I wasn't an eavesdropper."

**but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult.**

**I inched closer.**

**"...alone this summer," Grover was saying, "I mean, a Kindly One in the _school!_ Now that we know for sure, and _they_ know too—"**

**"We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more."**

"Fat chance of that, Chiron," Thalia muttered. "Six years later, and he's _still_ a Kelp Head."

"Aww, come on Thals," Percy whined. "You know you love me."

"Sure I do, cos," Thalia said with a roll of her bright blue eyes. "But at this point, Death Breath is better _male_ company than you. And he's younger!" She paused. "Well, physically. Not technically or even mentally."

Nico glowered at his cousins, but looked over at me when I couldn't help giggling. I just shrugged at his glare.

**"But he may not have time. The summer solstice dead-line—"**

**"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can. "**

**"Sir, he saw her..."**

**"His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that."**

**"Sir, I...I can't fail in my duties again." Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean."**

"It's not your fault," Thalia said, settling a hand on the satyr's shoulder. "It was my choice."

"Thanks, Thals," Grover sniffed.

**"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall—"**

Half of the room flinched.

"Ooooh..." five of the Seven groaned. Annabeth and Percy shared a look, shrugging.

"Not the last time I heard that," Percy said.

"Still," Apollo said. He shook his head. "That's gotta be surprising."

"Oh you poor boy!" Aphrodite cried.

Percy rolled his eyes.

I could've sworn I heard him grumble something like, "Sure wish you'd thought that before you decided to make my love life a living Hell." I couldn't be sure, though.

**The mythology book dropped out of my hand and hit the floor with a thud.**

**Mr. Brunner went silent.**

**My heart hammering, I picked up the book and backed down the hall.**

"Good," Hermes said with a nod of approval. "Erase all evidence."

**A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer's bow.**

"What is he doing in true form?" Artemis wondered.

No one had an answer. Grover continued.

**I opened the nearest door and slipped inside.**

**A few seconds later I heard a slow _clop-clop-clop_ , like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside my door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, then moved on. **

**A bead of sweat trickled down my neck.**

"Sshhh..." the room seemed to say.

Nothing moved; even the air seemed still.

**Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured.**

A sigh washed through the room, full of relief. Percy, Grover, and Annabeth rolled their eyes.

**"My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."**

**"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn..."**

**"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."**

**"Don't remind me."**

"Grover, you're such a teenager," Rachel laughed.

**The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office.**

**I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever.**

"So, like, five minutes," Frank said.

"Pretty much, yeah."

**Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm.**

**Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night.**

**"Hey," he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to be ready for this test?"**

**I didn't answer.**

**"You look awful." He frowned. "Is everything okay?"**

**"Just... Tired. "**

**I turned so he couldn't read my expression, and started getting ready for bed.**

"A satyr wouldn't fall for that," Dionysus said with a roll of his eyes. "They're empathetic."

Percy snorted.

Grover said, "You were confused..." He looked back at the book and continued reading.

**I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to believe I'd imagined the whole thing.**

**But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back. They thought I was in some kind of danger.**

"Always," I saw Annabeth whisper. Percy snickered.

**The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam, my eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I'd misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.**

**For a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.**

**"Percy," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's...it's for the best."**

Lots of winces.

"That's gotta sting," I muttered.

**His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips.**

"They weren't sarcastic," Grover said.

Percy wrinkled his nose. "Yes, they were."

"No." Grover shook his head. "She was serious. She really liked you."

Percy's face screwed up even further. "Dude! Nuh-uh!"

Grocery raised an eyebrow, but let it go, shrugging. "Whatever you say, Pers."

**I mumbled, "Okay, sir."**

**"I mean..." Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time."**

"Damn," the boy next to me muttered.

"Nico!" Hazel hissed.

"Sorry, sis," he whispered. "But that's just cruel."

I glanced over at Percy and Annabeth, who were both raising an eyebrow. Then I leaned over the arm of Nico's seat to whisper, "You know they can hear you, right?"

Nico glanced at me, then the power couple, then at his lap; the tip of his ear turned red as he allowed his shaggy dark hair to hide his face. "Whoops," he breathed.

**My eyes stung.**

**Here was my favorite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out.**

**"Right," I said, trembling.**

"Wuss," Ares said under his breath.

Twenty-five pairs of eyes glared at him, making him shrink in his seat. Percy smirked.

**"No, no," Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say ... You're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be—"**

**"Thanks," I blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me."**

**"Percy—"**

**But I was already gone.**

"At least he tried to apologize," Artemis mused. Then she conceded, "If in the wrong way."

"No child wants to hear that they aren't normal," Hades replied, startling a few as he came out of his silence. He just rolled his eyes before continuing. "No matter how odd they know they are, having someone else say it is...humbling."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Wow, Uncle," he said dryly. "Thanks...I guess?"

Hades nodded thoughtfully, then glared. "I still don't like you, nephew. And I don't like how you treat my son."

Percy looked away in shame.

Nico just scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Hey, be happy he acknowledges you," Hazel whispered to him.

At the same time, I muttered, "At least you have parents."

No one seemed to notice, thank gods. Grover continued.

**On the last day of the term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase.**

**The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month. They were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they were _rich_ juvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives, or ambassadors, or celebrities. I was a nobody, from a family of nobodies. **

All fourteen present gods just stared at him. I noticed Zeus' hand tighten on the arm of his chair.

 _"Nobodies?"_ the god growled.

"Brother," Poseidon said nervously. "He…he didn’t know any better."

"Well," Hestia said. "You must admit, he doesn’t seem to show any respect for the gods even _now."_

"I have respect," Percy protested. "I might not show it constantly, but at least I’m not always insulting them."

"Yeah," Annabeth said. She laughed. "You wouldn't _believe_ some of the things he did to challenge the gods when he was younger. He's grown to respect them now, at least...Although, there are a few exceptions."

**They asked me what I'd be doing this summer and I told them I was going back to the city.**

**What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. So...this is obviously not an update, it's really just me changing the notes to let people know what's going down with me. This same note is gonna be posted in the notes of every one of my WIPs, so if you're reading multiples, you just have to read on of them--it's exactly the same note.
> 
> So, I'm a fucking retard. Like, maybe the dumbest person on the planet. What's that saying? "The definition of insanity/ignorance is repeating the same actions and expecting a different outcome"? Basically, yeah. Either I'm stupid or insane, because that's what I keep doing.
> 
> Okay, here's the gist--I. Don't. Do. Technology. I don't. And technology doesn't really seem to want to cooperate with me, ever, either.
> 
> Basically, I took everything off of my phone--pictures, videos, documents, music, everything that wasn't an app pretty much--and put it on my computer. Not a big deal, I've done this several times when I'm working on renaming or organizing or whatever.
> 
> Except.
> 
> My mom got a NEW computer. That means we have three now (four if you count the desktop that nobody uses and that doesn't even work really). She says we're getting rid of the oldest laptop--which is the one I always use--because it sucks and they don't make updates for it anymore etcetera etcetera.
> 
> So my dumb ass is like, welp, gotta get my shit together, and I took everything I had on that computer--yes, everything, again--and put it on a SanDisk FlashDrive.
> 
> And NOW THE DAMN THING WON'T FUCKING OPEN. Everything is gone. Gone. Gone. Gone.
> 
> Docs. Pics. 20,000 songs. Videos. Everything. My whole life--down the drain. I basically have to start over and I don't even know half the things I lost. I swear to every fucking god I can think of, if I have to answer for my screaming and crying one more time...
> 
> Anyway, yes, I'm a dumbass. I'm a crazy bitch. And I'm so, so, so, so, SO sorry for this shit. I know ya'll want to read this, but I don't have any of it anymore. It's gone. I have to start over. Honestly, half of my stories might not come back from this. I'll let you know. IDK what you wanna do, subscribe or bookmark or whatever you need to do to get updates, but it's gonna be a couple of months. If this had happened at the beginning of summer, maybe it would take less time. But I'm starting my first year of college, and updates were already gonna be slower even than my usual turtle-ness, so...
> 
> Anyway, I'm really, really, really sorry. Please don't hate me. I won't day it's not my fault, because it is, but I AM sorry that I'm disappointing everyone. Again.
> 
> Okay. Talk to y'all soon. I've got work to do.


End file.
